


Something Different, Something New

by swanjones



Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: Alternate Universe - High School, American Sign Language, Established Iwaoi, High School, M/M, Mutual Pining, Sign Language, Slow Burn, a little parental abuse, bokuto is a man child, cheeleader!noya, football?, implied alcoholism, sports i guess, takes place in America
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-08-27
Updated: 2020-10-27
Packaged: 2021-03-06 19:55:21
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 16
Words: 61,954
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26144461
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/swanjones/pseuds/swanjones
Summary: Everything seems to come easily to Daichi, but he’s not as perfect as everyone thinks he is. Daichi joins the football team after months of convincing, without realizing what a commotion he would be getting himself into. Sugawara is just trying to fit in, and becoming the student section leader seems like an easy way to do that.... even though he’s not the biggest fan of football.a story full of senior year shenanigans, but not without the nostalgia and impending doom that comes with graduating high school.*rating is for language*
Relationships: Akaashi Keiji/Bokuto Koutarou, Iwaizumi Hajime/Oikawa Tooru, Sawamura Daichi/Sugawara Koushi
Comments: 22
Kudos: 46





	1. Decision Making

**Author's Note:**

> if you are from tiktok, hi :)
> 
> I plan on updating as I go, without a set schedule! I'm going to add more tags and characters as they come too! Let me know what you think!!!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Daichi was always up to try something new, but football was different for some reason.

Daichi was used to trying new things. Throughout high school, he had fallen into many roles, all of which he transitioned into flawlessly, never failing to exude pure confidence and charisma the whole way through. His debate team went to states his freshman year. He played on the championship basketball team as a sophomore. As a junior, he took on the lead role in the school’s musical, and did so with levels of expertise one would expect from a trained veteran. But when it came to football, Daichi had second thoughts.And he wasn’t really sure why.

“Come on, Daichi!” Tanaka pleaded, the hot summer sun beating down upon them as they scrimmaged at a public basketball court. “It will be like my freshman year, when we went to the championships!” Daichi stopped dribbling the ball and shot a quizzical look at Tanaka.

“We?” He scoffed. “You were on JV… and that was basketball. This is totally different.” Daichi resumed his dribbling, and shot the ball at the hoop. The perfectly aimed ball fell right through the net and bounced off away from where the boys were practicing. As Daichi began to walk to retrieve it, Tanaka reached out and grabbed his arm. He stopped in his tracks, eyes growing wide.

“Dude. Come on.” Tanaka said. “It’s your senior year, and this is basically the one sport you haven’t tried at least once….” He let go of Daichi’s arm. “I miss playing with you man.” Daichi scowled. After a moment, he responded.

“I’ll think about it.” He finally answered. Tanka jumped up and down at the answer, because he knew that if he could get Daichi to think about something, then there was still hope. Because thinking was one of Daichi’s biggest strengths… and weaknesses. “After I kick your ass at some more one-on-one!” Daichi sprinted to where their basketball had rolled off and instantly sprung back into action, Tanaka following right at his heels defending every move.

And Daichi wasn’t kidding when he said he would think about it… in fact he couldn't stop thinking about it. The days before his senior year were growing slim, and the more and more he thought about joining the football team, the more appealing it sounded to him. For days after his conversation with Tanaka, most of the thoughts that went in and out of Daichi’s head were about the stupid sport. Being the sensible young man that Daichi was, he asked his mom’s opinion, and his dad’s opinion, both of which were nothing but supportive. So he finally turned to his last remaining option… a pros and cons list. Daichi was a list maker at heart, and this was just one of many examples of it. As he sat at his desk, he stared down at a sheet of paper that was just as blank as his expression. He slowly added more and more things to the list, and by the end, he was staring at a one sided chart, and an empty cons column.

 _Damn_. He thought. _I’m really gonna have to do this aren’t I?_

The next morning, he quickly dressed himself in a pair of athletic shorts, a t-shirt, and sneakers. He hurriedly kissed his mom on the cheek as he swiftly moved to the door. He called out behind him as he was halfway out the door.

“I’ll be back, mom! Just heading next door!” His mother waved as she watched her son shut the door gently behind him. Daichi jogged across his lawn to the house right next door to his. In the connected grass lawn, he greeted a large golden retriever, that eagerly ran to him as he came closer to the house. He spared a few extra scratches and pets to the friendly pup, and eventually ran up the stairs to the front porch of the neighboring house. He rang the doorbell once, and after a few seconds of waiting the door creaked open. A brown eye peered from the crack in the doorway. Daichi sighed and rolled his eyes.

“Dude, it’s me.” He said. The door opened fully, and a large man stood in the doorway. His long brown hair was tied into a bun at the back of his head, and the worried expression previously worn on his face was replaced with a more pleasant one at the sight of Daichi.

“Oh hey, Daichi. I didn’t know you were coming over today.” He tugged at a strand of hair that had fallen out of his hair tie.

“Sorry, but we need to talk.” Daichi said firmly. The other man’s eyes grew wide. “Asahi, it’s fine, nothing’s wrong. But we do need to talk.” The boys walked through Asahi’s house, all the way to a large glass sliding door, which they went through into a large grass expanse of a backyard. They walked side by side in silence for a few minutes, until they happened upon a large oak tree. They both looked up into the branches. Above them was a small wooden tree house, with flags and decorations hung over the sides. They both sighed at the magnificent sight.

“Haven’t been out here in awhile.” Asahi said finally. Daichi chuckled softly. “After you.” He said as he motioned an outstretched hand to the ladder leading up into the structure. After much deliberation, the boys made their way into the tree house, learning that it was much harder to fit inside when they were practically full grown men, and not skinny little kids like they had been. Daichi looked around the dusty interior. Band posters, scribbled drawings, and string lights were haphazardly hung on the walls. There was a basketball and a few baseballs in the corner, along with a few toy trucks and action figures.

“I don’t think we’ve been up here since high school started.” Daichi said with a massive sigh. “And now high school is ending.” His tone shifted from nostalgia to sheer sorrow. Asahi furrowed his brows and eyed his childhood best friend. It wasn't often that Daichi acted like this.

“So…. What did you want to talk to me about?” Asahi asked as awkwardly as ever. He nervously waited for a response from Daichi, as his overly active anxious brain thought of a hundred different things he could have come over to tell him. _Maybe he was graduating early, and leaving for college now instead of next fall. What if he wasn’t even going to graduate and was going to drop out? What if he brought me out here to kill me?!_ Asahi thought _. No, that’s so ridiculous, you’re so stupid Asahi, it’s Daichi… he’s probably just feeling nostalgic about graduating…. That’s all._ Daichi finally broke the silence and put an end to Asahi’s constant stream of anxious thoughts.

“I think I might want to join the football team.” He said flatly. Asahi looked at him dead in the eyes, and burst into a big belly laugh. Daichi frowned and looked at his best friend, who had fallen onto his back on the floor of the treehouse. His laughter was boisterous enough he could feel the bottom of the structure shaking gently. “Why are you laughing?” He said seriously. “I’m in the middle of a dilemma right now, Asahi.” Asahi sat up and wiped tears from the corners of his eyes. He choked out a few more giggles before answering Daichi.

“Dude… why are you so worked up about football of all things?” Asahi said with a smile. “I thought you were gonna drop a fricken bomb on me, and you just want to play football?” He started to laugh again. “Daichi you play a new sport like, every year... What’s so different about football?” Daichi scowled at the question, because frankly, he didn't have an answer. “I don’t know,” He said flatly. “I guess it just, doesn’t really seem to suit me… but it looks like fun, and Tanaka has been begging me for weeks now… I guess it’s worth a try?”

“Listen man, I’ve been on the team since freshman year, _and_ I’ve been on varsity since I was a sophomore… and I just convinced myself that you brought me up here to murder me a minute ago. So if _I_ can go out on the field and knock some heads, then there is absolutely no question of whether or not you could too.”

“It just seems so barbari- wait, why the hell would I have killed you?” Daichi asked.

“Dunno, possibilities were endless… life is crazy.” Asahi smiled. “I think you should do it.”

“Kill you?” Daichi said, eyes wide.

“No, dumbass, join the football team.” Asahi said with a chuckle. Daichi sighed again.

“You know what… I think I will.” He smirked and held out his hand to Asahi who clasped his hand with Daichi’s. They embraced for a moment.

“You do know that the team had been conditioning all summer, right?” Asahi asked before pulling away from their hug. Daichi pushed Asahi away from him. “And we have a game the first week of school…. If I were you I’d get in contact with the coach. Usually people try out, but you’re you… so…. I’m sure you’ll make it. You'll have a bit to catch up on, but you can do it.” Daichi suddenly felt a surge of nerves rush over him… but somehow in the pit of his stomach, he was excited to try something different. Something new.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this chapter is short, but I just kind of wanted to set the scene a little bit, but I have plans!!!! yay plans!


	2. Back to School

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Daichi never forgets a name.... and surely he wouldn't forget Sugawara's.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> (enter Suga: stage left)

Working hard was second nature for Daichi, and that showed for the remaining weeks before senior year. Asahi was right in assuming the coach would allow Daichi to join the team late. When you have as great of a reputation as Daichi did, people trusted you, and they were always right in doing so. That didn't mean he got off easy, because he was pushed right into a team of guys who had been practicing all summer. He woke up early and went for runs, he conditioned with the team, stayed late at practice to run drills, passed the football back and forth with Asahi at home. He was slowly but surely becoming a football player, and he was having a genuinely good time doing so. A lot of his new teammates were people he had gone to school with for years, but had never gotten the chance to know beyond passing hello's in the hallway. 

Two weeks before the first day of school, the team was cracking down, preparing for their first game of the season. In the locker room, Daichi sat tying up his shoes. Asahi walked in the door, a large duffel bag on his shoulder. More players trickled in after Asahi, and the atmosphere quickly became rowdy and loud. One of Daichi's teammates plowed through the door and flung his bag across the room. He jumped on the bench and straddled his legs around Daichi's neck so that he was sitting on his shoulder. Once he had mounted his steed, he started to pat Daichi's head.

"Bokuto?" Daichi asked, not looking up from his shoes. "Is there any particular reason you're sitting on me... today..."

"LET'S GOOOOOO!" Bokuto said. Not quite the answer Daichi was looking for. Daichi sighed and smiled. With a huff he stood up. Bokuto's spiked hair almost touched the low ceilings. He screeched as he ascended closer to the ceiling. "Daichi, what the hell put me down!" Asahi stood a few feet away, watching the chaos as it unfolded. Daichi paraded around the locker room and Bokuto shrieked on his shoulders, their teammates laughing and gawking. "DAICHI PUT ME DOWN!!!" Finally, Daichi had circled back to the bench, and he let Bokuto return to the ground.

"I'm glad you're here now. He used to sit on me when he got here. I don't think I'm strong enough to pick him up though." Asahi said as he rubbed the back of his neck.

"Oh, bull," Daichi said as he punched Asahi in the gut and he doubled over. Bokuto sat at the edge of the bench where Daichi had released him, his golden eyes wide and still in shock. "Ah shit. Did I break Bokuto?" 

"Dude." Bokuto said. Suddenly a smile crept across Bokuto's face and he leapt up to meet Daichi. "You're so strong man! That was freakin' awesome Daichi! Why couldn't you have joined the team before now!" Daichi smiled at the strange compliment. "I was hyped before now, but damn now I'm gonna freakin lose it!" As he said it, he hopped back up onto the bench. As Bokuto hooted and hollered as he jumped up and down on the bench, Tanaka entered the locker room, fashionably late, per usual. When his eyes laid upon Bokuto's state, a quizzical look appeared on his face.

"What's the deal today?" Tanaka asked, rather accustomed to the highs and lows of Bokuto's attitude.

"Uhm... actually, we don't know the cause today," Asahi answered. "So far Daichi has carried around the locker room and now he's just... doing this." He motioned with an open palm and the three boys looked back at Bokuto, who had begun to "break dance" on the bench. In actuality, he was just rolling around, attempting to execute some sort of street dancing technique. 

"Hey Bo!" Tanaka called. "What's the occasion?" 

"Huh?" Bokuto stopped at the voice, which is for the best as it looked like he was about to attempt a backflip off of the bench. "I'M A SENIOR BABY!!" He yelled. Daichi and Asahi looked at each other and laughed. Daichi couldn't imagine being a senior bringing him that much joy, but if it made Bokuto happy, then that was enough for him. It sure was a mood booster for the rest of the team.

The mood in the room quickly shifted as an ear-piercing whistle sounded from the doorway. The players all quickly found a seat on the bench, and their coach entered the locker room finally.

"Bokuto." He said gruffly. "How many times do I have to tell you, if you wanted to do back flips, you should have joined the cheer squad. I can't have you cracking your head open before our first big game." Bokuto hung his head in defeat. "Listen up. Before we head out onto the field, I want to go over the starting line up for the first game." He pulled a clipboard out of his bag and began listing off the names of Daichi's teammates. Asahi was called, then Bokuto a few names later... even Tanaka was a starter. He reached the end of the list without saying Daichi's name. Daichi's heart sunk into the bottom of his stomach. He had worked so hard the past month, and Coach said himself that he was an asset to the team. He couldn't even begin to wrap his mind around the fact that he wasn't a starter. He wasn't jealous, or angry, but rather disappointed, and frustrated with himself. Not being a started didn't mean that he wasn't going to play at all, but he was still so frustrated by it. _Work harder next time, Daichi_. He thought to himself as he dug his fingernails into the palm of his hand. _You're just not working hard enough._

At practice, Daichi made sure to work himself harder than he had in all the weeks leading up until now. He ran faster, threw farther, and tackled harder than he had all summer. As the whistle sounded for a drink break, Daichi had to squirm out of the dog pile he had found himself in. Once he was standing, he realized that he had tackled an underclassman who had been scrimmaging with them. His blonde hair was pushed into the astroturf. 

"Oh god!" He said as he grabbed for his teammate's hand. He helped up the player, who he realized was Koganegawa, the kicker for the JV team. "Are you okay?" Kogane hopped surprising quickly to his feet and bounced around a bit.

"Phew! You've got one hell of a tackle. I'll be fine!" He said with a goofy smiled on his face. He rapped his knuckles against his skull. "Coach says I have a heard head." They began to walk off of the field together.

"Why are you scrimmaging with us? Aren't you on JV?... and aren't you a kicker?" Daichi asked, handing Kogane a water bottle and then taking one for himself.

"Well, Coach says it's for experience but I think he's pissed because I was late to morning practice all last week." He smirked as he took a swig of his water. "What can I say? I'm a growing boy I need my beauty sleep." Daichi laughed at the comment, but in the back of his mind, he was still upset with himself.

Asahi and Daichi walked home from practice everyday, usually engaged in hearty conversation, but today, they walked in silence. Asahi eyed Daichi sideways from time to time, but didn't want to be the one to break the silence. Daichi kicked a rock along the side walk for two blocks, when he finally stopped in his tracks. Asahi halted a few paces ahead and turned to face him.

"Daichi?" He asked. He wrung his hands on the strap of his duffel bag across his chest. Daichi looked up at him with a gentle smile on his lips.

"Thank you for convincing me to join the football team." Asahi took a step back at his comment and just stared at Daichi. "It's been a long time since I've had to work this hard for something...." Daichi said. Asahi frowned. "I'll catch up with you later! Gotta get home for dinner!!" Daichi called off as he jogged the rest of the way home. Asahi was beginning to wonder if Daichi playing football would end up being a good thing or a bad thing. They had been friends since they were children, and Daichi was no different as an eighteen year old than he was when they were in kindergarten. He was a perfectionist, and he would work and work and work, until everything was exactly the way it should be, and if he couldn't make things perfect, he would beat himself up. To all the people around him, he seemed naturally gifted and skilled, which he was, but only to an extent... Asahi knew his best friend better. He worked himself too hard.

Asahi made sure to keep tabs on Daichi for the the next week and a half leading up to the first day of school. Daichi seem cheery and normal on the outside, but Asahi watched as he began to stay even later after practice, and insist that Asahi should walk home without him. He would always wait for him though... he would sit in the locker room for twenty, thirty, sometimes for close to an hour after practice. He was watching his best friend run himself into the ground, and he couldn't help but feel responsible.

\-------

"Smile, Dai!!" Daichi's mother cooed at Daichi as he stood on the concrete stairs in front of their suburban home. Daichi stood with a small poster board that read "My Last First Day of School" on it in hand. He frowned at his mom.

"Mom. I'm going to be late." He said as hugged at the straps of his backpack. He wore a a green polo, and khaki shorts that landed just above the knee. 

"Oh, you look so handsome!" She said as she snapped a few more pictures. "You should be in a back-to-school catalog!" He groaned and rolled his eyes, but still gave his mom a genuine embrace and kissed her cheek before walking over to Asahi's front door. 

Asahi met him on the porch, wearing jean shorts and a t-shirt from a campsite he had visited with his family earlier in the summer.

"I'm taking Noya to school today too." He said as they climbed into his dinky Subaru. Daichi pressed his head against the headrest as he hugged his backpack to his chest. It's not that he wasn't fond of Noya, he really was, but he wasn't exactly ready to be bombarded by his energy at 7:30am.

"Are you excited for the pep rally this Friday?" Asahi said in an attempt to make light conversation. Daichi sat with his eyes locked on the road.

"Yeah. Should be fun." He said without shifting his gaze. Asahi pulled into a parking lot in front of a large apartment complex. A short boy with spiked black hair and a single bleached strand began to charge at his car. Asahi gasped, and Daichi chuckled as the boy hopped onto the hood of his car.

"Good morning, sunshines." Nishinoya said as he crawled off of the hood of the car and into the backseat. He slid into the middle seat and leaned over the center console. "How are my favorite seniors doing on this lovely Monday morning?" He asked with a gigantic grin.

"I'm great! Got lots of sleep." Asahi said sheepishly. He began to back out of the parking lot with Noya still sprawled over the console. Without turning around Daichi chirped for the first time in a while.

"Noya. Please put your seat belt on." 

"Damn. You caught me, dad." He threw himself back into the seat and reluctantly clicked the belt into place. Noya and Asahi chatted back and forth on the drive to school, but Daichi couldn't bring himself to contribute to the conversation. He was never nervous for school, or for anything for that matter... why was today so different? 

As they pulled into the parking lot, Asahi watched as Daichi's persona visibly shifted. His nerves seemingly disappeared, and he got out of the car confidently. But as Daichi said goodbye to Asahi and Noya, Asahi could still hear the slight shake in his voice. 

To the rest of his peers, Daichi was as cool and confident as ever as he strutted through the halls. He waved at past teachers, stopped and chatted to old teammates, and smiled at the girls who greeted him as he walked down the corridor. He stopped for a second to exchange a word with his physics teacher from last year. As he stood in the middle of the hallway, he felt a small body slam into his back. He jolted forward at the impact. He turned around to see a short boy, with a mop of orange hair sitting on the floor in front of him. Before Daichi had the chance to help him up, he sprung to his feet.

"Sorry! Didn't see you there! I was racing to the gym!" The boy said eagerly. Daichi scanned the hallway, where everyone else was walking at a normal pace. "I'm Hinata!" He said as he extended his hand. Daichi took it and shook it firmly.

"Daichi. And it's my fault, I stopped the traffic. I should pay more attention." He said kindly. Hint laughed.

"That's funny! People are always telling me to pay more attention too!" As soon as he said that, like a flash of light, a taller figure zoomed past the interaction in the middle of the hallway. Both go the boys spun around to see a slim man standing a few feet away from them. He had silver hair, that flopped messily across his forehead.

"Sorry, Daichi. The freshmen are so rude this year." The man said to him with a charming grin. Daichi didn't say anything, he just stared for a second.

"I am not rude!" Hinata protested. 

"Doesn't matter, I'm still going to beat you to the gym and you had a hell of a head start!" The grey haired boy said as he turned and began to run again. Hinata took off after jim.

"Bye Daichi!" Hinata called behind him. As he ran down the hallway, he yelled, "SUGAAAA!" Daichi was still frozen in his stance in the middle of the hallway.

 _How did he know my name?_ Daichi thought. He shook his head, so as to physically change his train of thought. But he couldn't help but wonder who he was.

Daichi struggled with the first half of his day. As he collected textbooks and syllabi from his honors and AP classes, he began to ask himself why he couldn't have just taken the easy road his senior year like Asahi did. He passed Asahi in the halls earlier, as he carried a small photography textbook, and a drawstring bag that looked empty while Daichi held books for calculus, AP biology, government and American history. Daichi knew he wouldn't be able to take a year off before college.... that's just not Daichi's style.

He reconvened with Asahi at lunch. They sat at the same lunch table that they had every day since freshman year, both boys pulling their various lunch foods from their brown paper lunch bags. They were joined by the dynamic duo of Tanaka and Noya, both traveling so haphazardly, it was miracle their lunch trays didn't spill all over the floor. They slammed their trays down on the table and Daichi shot them a disapproving look.

"I think this will be the year I get out of biology guys." Tanaka said, his mouth full of cafeteria pizza.

"It's about time!" Noya shouted as he tossed a grape at Tanaka's face. "You've taken it every year of high school!!!" Noya bursted into laughter, and Asahi and Daichi joined in. Tanaka scowled.

"Hey! It's not my fault! I just.... don't get it." Tanaka said, in defeat. 

"Tanaka, I have offered to tutor you every semester since freshman year." Daichi said as he took a bite of a turkey sandwich. As Tanaka was about to come up with an excuse, Daichi noticed a familiar face from that morning. The small freshman he had collided with in the hallway was staring aimlessly around the cafeteria. Daichi raised his hand and waved him over. At the sight of a familiar face, Hinata lit up as he scurried over to the table where the upperclassmen sat.

"Need a place to sit?" Daichi asked, motioning to the empty spots at the benches. Hinata nodded and slid in next to Daichi. "This is Hinata, I met him this morning in the hallway."

"I ran into him! Really hard! Knocked me over!" Hinata said, full of energy. "You're a really sturdy guy, Daichi, you know that?" Hinata patted Daichi's bicep and Daichi laughed.

"I have actually been told that plenty of times. You would be surprised." Daichi admitted.

"I can't sit for long. I was waiting for my frien- my teammate." Hinata said.

"What team are you on?" Asahi asked from across the table. He was desperate to leave whatever loud and vulgar conversation Nishinoya and Tanaka were having on the other side of the lunch table.

"The volleyball team!" Hinata answered. His eyes grew wide and he smiled from ear to ear. "I love it! I am a middle blocker, but one day I'm gonna be the ace!"

"I have no idea what that means, but hey, if you set your mind to it, you can do it." Asahi said with a grin.

"Oh, I will!" Hinata answered as a tall figure with dark hair approached from behind him. The boy flicked the back of Hinata's head.

"Let's go, Hinata." The boy said. Daichi scanned his face. He couldn't tell if he was scowling or if he just naturally looked angry.

"Ouch! Kageyama, look I made a friend." Hinata said as he motioned to Daichi, who smiled awkwardly at the lanky freshman in front of him.

"Cool. Come on. Sugawara is waiting for us in the gym." He said, and Hinata obliged, waving goodbye to his new friend. Daichi sat munching on his chips. _Sugawara._ He thought. _Must be the Suga from earlier.... Why have I never seen or even heard of him before? This school isn't that big._

"Daichi, you look like you're about to blow a fuse," Noya said. Daichi had been digging so deep into his memory to see if there were any traces of the grey haired Sugawara that he had let a concentrated scowl creep across his face.

"Do any of you guys know a Sugawara?" He asked, without acknowledging Nishinoya's comment. Noya shook his head, and Tanaka promptly did the same. Asahi scratched his chin.

"I think there might have been a Sugawara in my Photography class 3rd period.... but I don't remember, there was a bird in the tree outside of the window, and I kind of stopped paying attention." Asahi admitted.

"Dude! No way! What kind of bird?!" Noya asked.

"A cardinal! It was sweet, it was the brightest red I had ever seen! I should have taken a picture to show you." Noya listened to Asahi describe the bird intently, as Daichi stared at them, his eyes squinted with annoyance. Asahi noticed the dirty look and quickly stopped talking about the bird. "No sorry, that's all I know."

"What'd he look like?" Tanaka asked. Noya reached across Asahi's arm and took a handful of trail mix from his lunch box.

"Mmmm." Daichi thought back to that morning. "A few inches shorter than me, he had grey hair.... pretty skinny... Must be on the volleyball team, he was with Hinata." He described.

"Doesn't ring a bell." Tanaka said, as Noya agreed. "Why does it matter though?" 

"He knew my name as he ran off, but I had never met him before." Daichi said. Asahi looked up at him. Perfectionist Daichi always remember the names of the people he met. it made sense that he was so hung up on this.

"Maybe he just heard about you, or saw you in the yearbook or something." Tanaka shrugged as he took a bite of his brownie.

"True! You are kind of famous Mr. Sawamura." Noya said. Daichi smiled slightly, but still was unhappy with the fact that he couldn't remember Sugawara. And not to mention that now he couldn't stop thinking about him. Daichi never forgot someone's name... and he surely wouldn't forget Sugawara's.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> definitely did not write this instead of doing my homework ;)
> 
> let me know what you think :)
> 
> quite a few typos in this chapter as I am rereading it. sorry!! was trying to crank it out >.< I'll proofread better next time. :P


	3. It's a Sign... Language

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Daichi finds a few familiar faces in one of his classes.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> short-ish chapter
> 
> more coming very soon

As the lunch bell rang, Daichi gathered his trash, and walked it to the trashcan. With only a few periods left in the day, he was starting to feel exhausted. His early morning runs before morning group practice were really starting to wear on him... but he wasn't going to let anyone notice. Although he was partially sure that Asahi had already caught onto him.

"What class do you have next?" Asahi asked as they filtered back into the hallway. Daichi slid his phone out of the pocket and the screen lit up revealing a photo of his schedule.

"Sign Language." He said as he ran his finger across the screen. "What about you?" 

"Study hall.... again." Asahi smiled sheepishly at Daichi, who jabbed him in the side.

"Seriously dude?! Three study halls? You're unbelievable." He said shaking his head with a laugh.

"Whaaaat?!" Asahi shrugged. "It's senior year. And not everyone is a machine like you Daichi. I'm taking a break! You should try it sometime!" Asahi said as he peeled off into the library. Daichi huffed. _I don't have time for a break._ He thought. He shrugged off the words as he entered a classroom. It was a room he had never been in before. The desks were arranged into a large circle, and the walls were decorated with brightly colored posters and diagrams of various signs and graphics. He noticed a few familiar faces in the room, so he took a seat in an empty chair next to one. A dark haired man with blue eyes turned to face him.

"Hey, Akaashi." Daichi said, setting his heavy books down onto the desk.

"Hey." Akaashi answered flatly. He squinted his eyes at Daichi. "Not to be rude or anything, but why are you in this class? I figured you would have taken like AP Spanish or some shit like that." He said bluntly. Daichi scoffed.

"Actually, I took that last year." He grinned. He almost added that he got a 5 on the exam too, but he figured he better keep it to himself. 

"Of course you did." Akaashi said as he shook his head. More students trickled into the classroom, until eventually most of the seats were empty. There was empty seat directly across the circle from Daichi. As soon as he noted to vacancy, a familiar face slid into the chair. Daichi's eyes grew wide. Sitting directly across from him, was Sugawara. Suga flashed a quick peace sign to Daichi, who was too shocked to return the gesture. As their teacher explained the syllabus, Daichi suddenly felt giddy. He wasn't listening to the syllabus that's for sure... but for some reason, he was eager to be in class.

"Are you all ready for the introduction activity?" The teacher asked. She passed out sheets of paper, on which were printed diagrams of the hand configurations for each letter in the alphabet. The students began to piece together their names, letter by letter, moving their hands and fingers in order to spell them out. After a few moments of preparation, they began around the circle, spelling out their names, and giving a little information about themselves, and a fun fact. The cycle made its way around to Sugawara, who smiled sweetly when the teacher called on him. He flawlessly signed the letters of his name. S-U-G-A-W-A-R-A.

"But you can call me," He stopped speaking and signed: S-U-G-A. "Suga!" The class giggled. "I am a senior, and I am on the volleyball team. A fun fact.... hmmmm." He scratched his chin. "I'm really big on photography, and I hope to pursue it in college." There was a collective, oo and aw from the class. The cycle continued around the rest of the desk circle. Daichi scowled, attempting to think of a fun fact to make him sound cool and fun. _God, Daichi you're so lame._ Daichi thought as he bit the inside of his cheek. _Haven't you ever done anything fun?_

"Okay, who's next.... Daichi?" The teacher looked at Daichi and smiled. Daichi gulped, he was not ready with a fact or his sign language. He hesitantly spelled out his name. D.... A... I....C..... G, no, Q, no... H.... I. He looked up from his paper, and saw Sugawara smiling at him. "I'm a senior. I'm on the football team this year, but I've played a different sport every year. And my fun fact is...." Daichi panicked. "I can tap dance." He blurted. Suga's mouth gaped open wide as he looked at Daichi with a look on his face that said: "No way... you're lying." Daichi grinned and shrugged, nonverbally answering: "Nope. Not lying." Suga pursed his lips and squinted at Daichi who blushed and looked down at his desk. And he wasn't lying... he could perform a mean tap dance. He was lead in the musical last year after all. 

As the introductions of the other classmates finished, the teacher began to explain more terms and conditions for the class.

"This is a very group and partner centric class, as you need to be able to hold a conversation with one another, so tomorrow we will be picking small groups, and partners." All of the students began to look around the classroom, desperately making non verbal plans with their classmates to choose each other as partners the next day. Daichi looked up from his paper and unintentionally locked eyes with Suga, who simply stared back. The bell rang, and the students around Daichi got up and began to leave to classroom, but he didn't stand immediately. Suddenly, Suga stood and crossed the circle, and stood in front of Daichi's desk.

"I call bullshit." He said flatly. Daichi just looked at him, confused at the abruptness in the comment.

"Wha- I," Daichi started.

"There's no way you're a tap dancer. I call bullshit." Suga said as he pointed a finger at Daichi.

"My mom wanted me to be well rounded..." Daichi said honestly. "I took classes when I was younger. I was the lead in the musical last year you know." Daichi smirked and Suga smiled knowingly.

"I saw the show.... but Harold Hill doesn't tap dance." Suga said as Daichi finally stood up and made his way around the desk. Daichi felt a surge of confidence.

"What's your next class?" He asked bluntly. "I-I mean I'll walk with you if it's on the way to mine." 

"I am headed to Drama club, Mr. Harold Hill." He said in a mocking tone. 

"Well, lucky for you, I'm walking right past the auditorium." The boys started down the hallway.

"Have we met?" Daichi said. Suga looked at him, his eyebrow cocked. "Before today, I mean."

"Nope." Suga said as he shoved his hands into the pockets. Daichi sighed for a moment, but then a new set of questions flooded into his mind.

"How did you know my name then? This morning, you said 'sorry Daichi.'" Daichi pursed his lips as he awaited a response.

"Well, Daichi, you know that you're like... kind of famous." Sugawara said. He said it in a different tone than Noya did earlier. Daichi's eyes grew wide, and Suga scoffed. "Oh, get over yourself." Suga elbowed Daichi in the side. " I just said I saw you in the musical last spring." 

"Oh right. I forgot." Daichi said as he rubbed the back of his neck.

"But I know all the names of the players on the football team." Suga explained. Daichi cocked his head in question. "I'm the student section leader this year. I've got to be able to lead the cheers don't I?" He said smugly.

"Uh yeah, I guess you do." Their conversation ended just as they reached the doors to the auditorium. Suga turned to face Daichi.

"See you tomorrow, Daichi." He waved and turned into the double doors that lead to the same large auditorium.

"Bye, Suga." Daichi responded. As soon as the door shut, Daichi turned back to the direction he came from. He would have to hurry to make it to the next period in time.... his class was on the other end of the hallway.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am so excited for the next few chapters! So many thoughts! Head so full for once!


	4. Workin' On It

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 100% self indulgence found in theatre-kid Suga.... I'm not even going to lie.
> 
> also cheerleader!noya

Asahi stood with his arms draped over the roof of his car. The sunroof slowly opened, and Noya popped his head out of it. Asahi smiled.

"Dude! What's taking Daichi so long?" Noya said, beginning to crawl through the sunroof onto the hood of the car. 

"Noya, please don't climb onto the roof again." Asahi requested, in as stern of a voice the gentle giant could muster. Noya stuck his lower lip out and pouted, but reluctantly crawled back into the car. "I'm not sure where Daichi is though. I'm getting kind of worried." He slid his phone out of his pocket and unlocked it.

**To: Daichi**

_**Are you coming? Noya and are in the parking lot.** _

A few moments passed, and his screen lit up.

**From: Daichi**

_**Coming. Be there ASAP.** _

_**...** _

_**Sorry.** _

Asahi sighed and slid his phone back into his pocket. He couldn't imagine why Daichi would have stayed in class late for today. Probably getting a head start on his calculus homework or got caught up reading a novel for English class. _Ugh, it's the first day, Daichi, take a freakin' break._

Daichi gripped his phone, as he looked up at the auditorium doors. The drama club should be done meeting by now. _What the heck, Daichi._ He thought to himself. _You're literally a creep. Why are you still here?_ He turned to walk away, even though he had been waiting there for ten minutes to see if he might run into Suga on his way out. As soon as his back was turned, a voice called out to him.

"Daichi?" He spun on his heels to see Suga standing just outside of the doors.

"Oh, hey Suga." Daichi said awkwardly, wringing his hands on the straps of his backpack.

"We keep running into each other." Suga said as he tightened the strap of his messenger bag. Daichi's eyes grew wide.

"Uh yeah. It's weird." He responded and coughed into his elbow. Suga eyed him.

"Are you headed to the parking lot?" Suga asked, still scanning the awkwardness in Daichi's body language.

"Y-yeah." He answered. 

"Well, I'll walk with you." Suga smiled at Daichi, and Daichi felt his stomach churn a bit. _What the heck?_ _Must be my lunch.... shouldn't have eaten so much... I guess. "_ Well?" Suga asked, as Daichi realized he didn't acknowledge Suga's statement.

"Okay!" Daichi answered finally, and they started down the same hallway they walked down earlier. After a few paces, their large strides synced up, and they walked in unison for a while. As they walked, Suga passed and turned to face him. He started to walk backwards down the hallway, facing Daichi.

"You know.... if you had stayed in the drama program, you totally could have been Prince Eric this year. We're doing The Little Mermaid you know." He turned back around, and Daichi blushed at the compliment.

"You think?" Daichi smiled triumphantly. "I'm not really a tenor though...the lead in Music Man is a bass." 

"Mmmm right, Harold Hill.... I'm sure you could pull it off though.... lucky for me that you didn't, because it opened the role up for me." Suga said without turning back around. 

"You got the lead?" Daichi asked, a smile spreading across his face. "That's fantastic!" Suga turned back and flashed a cheesy smile and a pair of finger guns. 

"Why aren't you a starter for the football team?" Suga asked randomly. Daichi stopped in his tracks at the abruptness of his question. It was still sort of a sore subject for him.

"I'm new to the team." Daichi said, as he pressed his lips into a thin line. "I didn't work hard enough to get up to par with the rest of the guys, I guess."

"God, Daichi you're such a disappointment." Suga turned around and punched Daichi hard in the arm. Daichi stared at him, his eyes wide, his lips open slightly. "Oh my god, I'm kidding. You're pretty fragile, you know that?"

"I-I, just," Daichi stuttered.

"Who cares?!" Suga said, his arms outstretched to his sides. "Football sucks anyway. You should have joined the volleyball team instead." 

"Oh you really think so?" Daichi said as he crossed his arms, one eyebrow cocked.

"Sure. You could be agile like a dancer, but you can also stand your ground like a basketball or football player. Perfect combo for a volleyball player." Suga explained.

"I don't know, aren't the shorts kind of short?" Daichi joked, but Suga turned back to him and smiled knowingly.

"Super short." Daichi gulped. _What the fuck?_

They walked out of the double doors leading to the large parking lot that had come to be mostly empty. Asahi and Noya stood in front of the same Subaru they had arrived at school in 7 hours earlier. Daichi could tell from all the way across the parking lot that Asahi was not happy with how long it took Daichi to make his way outside. Noya didn't seem to mind. He was standing on the roof of Asahi's car, against his better judgment. Asahi couldn't decide if he was more frustrated with Daichi's lack of punctuality or Noya's... Noya-ness. Probably Daichi... because at least Noya was usually like this, so he knew what to expect. But Daichi? He was early for everything. Sometimes it was annoying how early he was. And now that he was late to meet Asahi, they both were going to be late for practice.

"Looks like your entourage has been waiting for you." Suga stated as he pointed across the lot.

"Yeah... I've got to head to practice." Daichi said. "I'll see you tomorrow though." 

"Right. Remember Daichi... gotta work harder." Suga winked and walked towards the bike rack. He unlocked a chain around a powder blue bike and swung his leg over the seat. He threw up another peace sign in Daichi's direction, and pedaled off, away from the parking lot. "See ya tomorrow, Music Man." 

Daichi held his hand up, and offered a cowardly wave goodbye. 

"Come on, man!" Noya yelled across the lot. "I can't be late to practice again!!!"

Daichi jogged to meet them and hopped into the passenger seat. Noya dropped through the sunroof, not without kicking Daichi in the face, and then planting his ass on Asahi's shoulder for a second.

"Can you please just get in your seat, Nishinoya?" Daichi said as they pulled out of the lot. "I'm sorry guys, I really am. I was talking to Sugawara."

"Oh, I know. I saw." Asahi said as he turned his blinker on. "Saw you creeping outside of the auditorium too... Did you leave eighth period early?" Daichi paused before answering.

"Daichi cut class?!" Noya screeched from the back seat. "When I cut class I get detention, but when you cut class you get to have a conversation with some dreamy mystery boy?! Not fair." Daichi blushed. _Why is my face so hot?_

"Noya. Don't- Please don't call him that." Daichi requested calmly. 

"Just don't be late tomorrow. If Coach makes us run suicides for being late, I'm going to be pissed." Asahi said gruffly. Daichi turned to look at his best friend. It wasn't often that Asahi took up a tone like that with Daichi, and when he did, it made his blood run cold. _Won't be late again._ Daichi made a mental note. _Never again._

\----- 

They boys slipped into practice just in the nick of time, so they managed to get away unscathed. As they ran drills on the field, the cheer team practiced on the sidelines. The cheerleaders usually practiced in the school gym, but with a game coming up so soon, they took the day to practice where they would be on Friday night. It wasn't without any consequences though, as most of the boys on the field were paying more attention to the activities off the field than to the ones on it. It didn't help that the only male cheerleader on the squad was Nishinoya, who was constantly yelling and screaming when he didn't need to be. He would do a tumbling pass, and then finish it by screaming up into the sky. The other cheerleaders would cheer him on, the football team would get distracted, the coach would blow his whistle, and the team would do sprints... it was a vicious cycle. 

By the time practice came to a close, Bokuto was doubled over, griping in pain. 

"Dude, you're the varsity quarterback, can't you handle a couple of extra drills?" Tanaka asked as he slapped him on the back.

"St-stomach--- Hurrrt---- AHHHH!" Bokuto said through huffed breath. Asahi, Daichi, and Tanaka all laughed as Bokuto laid down on the turf and looked up at stadium lights. "Take me now!" He reached his arms up to the sky. Daichi wasn't sure if Bokuto was being dramatic, or if he was actually this painfully exhausted, although he had his suspicions, but he still clapped Bokuto's hand and helped him back to his feet. Bokuto threw his arm around Daichi's shoulder and buried his head into Daichi's neck.

"Ew, Bokuto, you're so fucking sweaty." Daichi laughed as he pushed Bokuto's head away.

"Daichi, please I'm fragile right now." He held his arms out in front of him. "Carry me to the locker room please, Daichi." Daichi stared at him.

"Absolutely not." They kept walking as Bokuto wailed behind them.

"Dude! You could be in the locker room right now if you would just walk yourself." Tanaka called out behind him. Bokuto hung his head lowly and dragged his feet to catch up with his friends. Noya was waiting outside of the locker room when they got there.

"ASAHI! TANAKA! DAICHI! BOKUTO!" Noya shouted, addressing them individually with a hard slap on the shoulder. "DID YOU SEE ME TUMBLING TODAY?? I WAS ON FIRE!!" Without waiting for an answer, Noya took off into a sprint, and then once he had run far enough, he executed a complicated pass of flips. When he landed, he began to yell in celebration. Tanaka and Bokuto matched his energy and yelled as well, while Daichi and Asahi just offered a gentle round of applause.

"My turn!" Bokuto started to run, but Asahi and Daichi grabbed his arms and held him back.

"Bokuto, just five seconds ago, you were so weak you couldn't even walk to the locker room, and now you want to do a backflip?" Daichi asked.

"Not just a backflip!" Noya interjected. "Round-off, back-handspring, back-handspring, layout." He smirked at the complexity of the pass he had just run.

"I can do it!" Bokuto pleaded. 

"Bokuto, I swear to God, if you even try to do a cartwheel your ass will be benched for the whole season." Their coach yelled from across the field. All the color drained from Bokuto's face and he turned and walked into the locker room in silence. As soon as he was out of ear shot, his friends broke into uncontrollable laughter. Even though Daichi's muscles ached from the drills, and every laugh made his stomach cramp, he hadn't laughed this hard in a while. So he laughed. 

As he and Asahi drove home, Daichi was exhausted. Asahi tapped the steering wheel to the rhythm that played on the radio, and Daichi watched the street lamps pass by his window.

"Sorry for being late today." Daichi said finally. Asahi laughed.

"It's all good...We didn't have to run... for that reason at least. I don't mind though." Asahi looked over at Daichi. "Did you make a new friend?"

He smiled, but keep his gaze locked on the the window.

"I'm workin' on it."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Daichi is confused poor thing 
> 
> Bokuto is a lot of fun to write
> 
> honestly I'm having the most fun writing Noya and Asahi so far... I would die for them.
> 
> thank u so much to erica for helping me proofread love u to the moon and back sometimes my monkey brain needs some assistance <3


	5. Partners... in Sign Language

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Suga also has a lot on his plate.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> theatre kid suga makes head go brrr brrr

Sugawara's alarm clock blared over and over again. He rolled over and tucked his pillow around his ears, but the fabric wasn't enough to muffle the sound of the alarm. He groaned and finally rolled to place his feet on the floor and stopped the alarm. He traipsed around his room, tip toeing around scattered sheets of paper, some of which had volleyball formations and plays, others were pages of sheet music, and others were actual pieces of homework. He gathered the paper in his hands, not taking any extra precautions to organize them. Once they were inside of his messenger bag, he got dressed in a pair of straight cut jeans, and a t-shirt. He stopped and looked at himself in the mirror that was mounted on his closet door. He swiveled his hips and made not of how well his new jeans fit him. He smirked. _Perfect._ He slipped on a simple pair of Vans, and hurriedly left his room, and then the front door of his house. He could have gotten his license by now, his mom said she would help him buy a car, but something about riding a bike made Suga feel special. He pedaled into the parking lot, the early morning atmosphere still rather dark and foggy. He was always one of the first students at the school. He slipped his phone out of his pocket and checked to see if any messages had appeared on his ride to school. Only one.

**From: Shoyo**

_**can we please please please please practice before school today? :3** _

Suga smiled.

**To: Shoyo**

**_I'm here now. whenever you get here, I'll meet you in the gym._ **

Suga locked his bike into the rack and walked into the school. The trek though the school to the auditorium was exhausting, and once he made it to the piano in front of the stage, he was winded. He dug through the various papers he had collected that morning and he place a few sheets of music on the piano. He clumsily plunked out a familiar melody or two, and hummed along, occasionally scribbling a written note or two in the music. His phone buzzed in his pocket.

**From: Shoyo**

**_i'm here in the locker room! :D_ **

**_..._ **

**_..._ **

**_are you coming?_ **

Suga sighed.

**To: Shoyo**

**_on my way. warm-up while you wait._ **

Suga blew a puff of air to get the hair out of his eyes as he gathered the music and shoved it back into his bag. _Not a whole lot of practice this morning. Maybe if you weren't so hopeless reading the piano music then you could get your melody out a little better._ He trudged up the aisles and exited the auditorium and made his way all the way back across the school, and entered the gymnasium. Inside he found Hinata, bouncing around. Not really the warm-up Suga had in mind, in fact, he wasn't really sure what exactly Hinata was trying to accomplish. At the sight of Suga, Hinata stopped what he was doing and ran over to him. He wrapped his arms around the senior, who hugged him back.

"Thank you for helping me practice again." Hinata said, his face pressed into Suga's shirt. "You smell nice."

Suga laughed at Hinata's honest nature. He was such a special kid.

"You're welcome, bud. Come on, let's get some practice in." 

Sugawara set ball after ball for Hinata, who hit them across the court, and then ran after them to retrieve them. They practiced for almost 35 minutes before school. Suga checked the time on his phone.

"You better go clean up before first period, Hinata." He advised. Hinata nodded, knowingly, as sweat dripped down his forehead. "I'll see you later!" They exchanged a wave, and Suga went back into the hallways, which were much more crowded now than when he had first arrived at school. He pushed through a cluster of underclassmen, and made his way into the actual flow of traffic. He rubbed his eyes with the back of his wrist.

He struggled through the first few periods of the day, dozing off in most of his classes. Even photography class, which he was especially passionate about couldn't capture his attention for long enough to keep him awake. He rested his chin on his hand as the instructor droned on about exposure, and focus, and yada yada yada. As soon as he was about to doze off completely, he felt a wet finger slip into his ear. He shuddered and jumped in his seat, craning his neck to see who would have given him a wet willy. He squinted his eyes when he saw the perpetrator. _Of course it was you, you little shit._

In the chair next to him, a skinny boy with ash brown hair sat, his eyes inconspicuously glued to the board, but he was obviously holding in a laugh. Suga leaned into his ear and whispered.

"I'm gonna fuckin' kill you." 

"Oh wahhh," the boy answered out loud. "I couldn't let you sleep through your favorite class." He gave Suga an evil looking grin.

"You're the worst, Oikawa. I hope you know that." 

"You seem to remind me pretty regularly."

As Suga brought his attention back to the front of the classroom, he noticed something that he hadn't in class the day before. Sitting a few rows ahead of him, was one of the guys that was waiting for Daichi in the parking lot yesterday. His broad shoulders would have been a huge obstruction to the board, but he sat with them hunched over, almost as if we was trying to make himself smaller, so Suga was able to see all the parts of the board. The large man had a long brown ponytail tied at the back of his head. Suga stared at his hair for a few minutes, imagining all the hassle he must deal with in caring for it, but ultimately his focus broke when the bell rang dismissing them from that period. He would finally get an actual break at lunch, maybe then he would get a chance to get some energy.

After retrieving his food from the lunch line, he scanned the cafeteria. It was an absolute mad house. His eyes landed on one table that seemed particularly rowdy. A larger boy with black and white hair stood behind another bulky kid with a shaved head. They were yelling about something. _Bokuto and.... Tanaka._ Suga thought. _They're both starters for the football team... figures. They look about the way I would picture star football players._ Sugawara was about to head to the auditorium to eat his lunch in peace when he noticed amongst the commotion at the football table, a familiar little red-head sat, engaged in conversation with another familiar face. Even from across the cafeteria Suga could see how engaged Daichi was in whatever Hinata was saying. Suga took a deep breath, and finally crossed the room to sit with them.

"Any open seats here?" He asked confidently. He watched as Daichi looked up from his conversation with Hinata, his eyes growing wide at the sight of Suga.

"Uh, yeah you can sit here." Asahi said, motioning to an open spot next to him on the bench.

"Thanks!" He placed his tray accordingly and joined them on the bench. "What's all the commotion about?" He asked, taking a bite out of a stale looking piece of pizza.

"Bokuto is trying to kill me!" Tanaka called as Bokuto wrapped his hands around his head. A shorter boy made his way to the table and instantly began to cheer on whatever Bokuto was attempting to do. Daichi turned to face Sugawara.

"Bokuto is upset because Tanaka told everyone he got lunch detention on the first day of school." He explained, and Suga nodded intently. Daichi smiled. "But let's see, Bokuto, where were you at lunch yesterday?" Daichi asked the angry quarterback. Bokuto's eyes grew wide and he slid into a seat. Tanaka rubbed his head. The shorter boy, who Suga determined was Nishinoya, still sat trying to egg on another fight.

"I was not in detention." Bokuto answered, sounded dejected as ever.

"That's not what I asked." Daichi said firmly. Suga had to stifle a laugh at Daichi's tone... it was like he was watching a father discipline his son who got in trouble on the playground.

"I was... In the principal's office." Bokuto answered.

"And why were you in the principal's office?" 

"For 'behavioral issues.'" Bokuto frowned, and Nishinoya threw his head back in laughter.

"What'd you do this time, Bo?" He asked, wiping tears from the corners of his eyes.

"Well we were having a rodeo in the bathroom, and-" Bokuto started, but was interrupted by Sugawara.

"A rodeo?" He asked.

"Who are you?" Bokuto asked the grey haired stranger. 

"Suga." 

"Oh, nice to meet you, Suga." He smiled. "Yeah, a rodeo! I had someone riding on my shoulders and I was trying to buck him off, and we accidentally ripped a paper towel dispenser off of the wall." Bokuto explained, as serious as ever. Sugawara slapped his hand across his mouth, trying not to laugh as he imagined those events unfolding.

"How the hell did you not get detention for that?" Daichi asked.

"Beats me. Pretty lucky that I didn't because Coach would have beaten my ass if I had." Bokuto smiled cheerily and the table laughed.

"Can I come to your next rodeo?" Hinata asked, his fists clenched with excitement.

"No." Daichi and Sugawara turned and answered him in unison. They made eye contact with each other and then laughed. Hinata pouted, but he got over it soon enough. 

They finished eating lunch together, their voices raised in boisterous conversation, Hinata and Sugawara fitting in as if they had been friends with the rest of the group for their whole lives. As the bell rang, they all split off on their different paths, but Daichi and Suga had the same destination for seventh period. Sign Language. They walked though the noisy hallways side by side, neither boy saying a word to the other. Before they entered the door to their classroom, Suga turned to Daichi.

"Be my partner." He said. Daichi just stared at him, scanning his face. "In sign language. I don't want to pair up with anyone else in the class. Be my partner." Heat rushed into Suga's cheeks.

"Ok." Daichi said. He didn't know what else to say. Suga entered the class room before he did, but once his back was turned, Daichi grinned and he felt a rush of color in his cheeks. 

"Dude, will you please be my partner?" Akaashi asked Daichi as he took his seat. "I don't know anyone else in the class." Daichi smiled awkwardly. Before he even got the chance to answer, Akaashi groaned. "Ugh jerk. Already have a partner?" 

"Sorry."

"It's fine." Akaashi rolled his eyes and informed the teacher that he still needed a designated partner. Daichi looked across the circle, and he noticed that it looked as if Suga had been trying to grab his attention. Once he finally noticed, Suga spelled out with his hands, P-U-S-S-Y. Daichi frowned and furrowed his eyebrows, he mouthed 'Why?' across the circle back at Suga who giggled quietly. 'No reason,' Suga mouthed back. Daichi stuck his tongue out at Suga and turned back to the teacher. They broke off into pairs a few minutes into the period to practice basic conversational skills, so Daichi moved across the room and took a seat next to Suga. They practiced the given assignment for a few minutes, Sugawara giggling every time Daichi messed up.

"You're still signing your H's wrong." Suga told him. Daichi looked at his hands with frustration. Suga reached across the desks and repositioned Daichi's fingers. Daichi's eyes were so wide he thought they could have popped out of his head. He didn't even watch as Suga made corrections to his hands, he just watched his face. "You're leaving your thumb up," he explained. "Looks like you're trying to shoot a gun." He wiggled Daichi's thumb, and then folded it flat against his palm.

"Thanks." Daichi choked out. _His hands are really soft._

"Anytime." Suga looked down at the scripted conversation they were supposed to be having. Before he could begin the next section of conversation, Daichi blurted out a question.

"If you hate football so much, why are you the student section leader?" As soon as he asked the question, he brought a hand to his mouth. He shouldn't have asked. Sugawara looked at him and cocked his head.

"There's no need to be embarrassed it's an honest question." Suga replied. Daichi's hand lowered, and he waited for an answer. "I went to school here my freshman year, but for less than a semester," Daichi furrowed his brow. He didn't remember Suga at all. "My dad got a job in another state, so we moved, but he and my mom split up in the spring, and she moved back here this summer, and I came with her. We talked and she said this might be a good way to get involved." Daichi felt terrible for asking the question, without knowing it would warrant such a personal response.

"I started going to open gyms for volleyball over the summer, and I made some friends on the team, and one of them is student body president, so when I asked about it, he told me to knock myself out. Kind of crazy he would just trust me like that, but there you go." Daichi didn't have anything to say. "I don't like football, I really wanted to lead the section for basketball season, but it's a package deal..."

"How did you see me in the Music Man then, if you didn't go to school here?" Daichi asked still feeling guilty for prying.

"My mom and I sort of knew that she and my dad were going to call it quits, so we drove in one weekend to take a look around the school. Lucky for us, we got to see opening night." Suga smiled and Daichi.

"I was a nervous wreck." Daichi laughed and grabbed the back of his neck.

"Couldn't even tell." Sugawara admitted. "I'm so glad you quit the club, you're too much competition." 

Daichi laughed again and Suga smirked in response. They finished the assignment and sat in silence until the teacher addressed the class as a whole again. After the bell rang, Daichi walked with Suga all the way to the auditorium, and then jogged back down the hallway to his 8th period class.

Suga shut the door to the auditorium and pressed his back against it. He couldn't believe that he had told Daichi everything that he just had. _Overshare much? God, Sugawara you're hopeless_. He hurried down to the front of the auditorium where the rest of the drama club was already warming up around the piano. He shoved his way into the semi-circle, in between two freshman, one shorter blonde girl, and a boy around his height with freckles all over his face. They split apart to make room for Sugawara who joined in on the vocal warm-up.

"You're late." The boy whispered to Suga.

"Yeah, no shit, Yams." Sugawara snapped under his breath. The freshman's eyes grew wide at the harshness in Suga's tone. "Sorry. I didn't mean to snap at you like that."

"It's okay, I'm used to it." The boy said quietly. Sugawara frowned and returned to singing. Once the warm-ups had concluded, the cast began to break off into their various scenes. Suga didn't have an explicit goal for the meeting today, as most of the time, the leads can choose how they spend their rehearsals. Suga slipped backstage and made his way down a corridor into a practice room. He sat at the piano and attempted to play the notes to his song once more. After multiple failed attempts, however he gave and reverted to a recording he found on his phone. After twenty or so minutes of practicing, and after far too many wrong notes, he clenched his fist, and dug his fingernails deep into the palm of his hand. He got up in a rush and packed all of his things out of the practice room. As he swiftly moved back through the auditorium, the other cast members watched. He didn't even notice, as he was desperate to get out of the auditorium. The door to the auditorium swung shut and right outside stood Daichi, his eyes wide as they landed upon Sugawara.

"H-Hi Suga." He said, pretending to walk away, as if he was walking past and not just waiting outside of the doors.

"Daichi. Do you know how to play piano?" Suga said without a greeting.

"Uhm, I... yes."

"Ugh, of course you do." Suga rolled his eyes.

"Why do you ask?" 

"Do you have a free period?" Suga took a step closer to Daichi, who in his mind wanted to take a step back, but felt like his legs were cemented to the ground.

"Uhm.... kind of. I'm a teacher aide this period. So sometimes I have things to do, but most times I don't."

"Play for me." Suga said, flipping open his messenger bag and taking out handfuls of sheet music. He shoved them towards Daichi who grabbed the crumpled fistfuls of paper. "I suck at piano. I can't do it. Please help me practice." Daichi just stood and blinked at him. "Oh come on don't make me regret asking you." No response. "Daichi, you're a jerk."

"No! I'll do it! I'm sorry, I was just... processing." Daichi said, eyeing the sheet music he was still holding. Suga's expression softened and he let out a sigh of relief. He punched Daichi in the gut, and Daichi doubled over upon impact. 

"Thanks Daichi!" He said with a grin. "Gotta go!" Suga waved and darted down the hallway away from Daichi.

Daichi took another look at the sheet music that Sugawara had given him. At the top of one of the pages, he noticed more writing than the other pages. When he read it, he realized that it was Suga's phone number. Daichi smirked and looked up to see if Suga was still in the hallway, but he was already gone. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I like this chapter a lot I hope you do too :)


	6. Slurpees and Stealing

Daichi sat at his desk, clusters of partially finished calculus homework scattered across it. He was having trouble concentrating, which was not a good sign, especially since it was only a few days into the school year. The past few days at school had been enjoyable, sure, but it was nearing Thursday morning, which meant that in less than two days, Daichi would have his very first football game. Granted, it wasn't guaranteed that he was even going to get to play, he couldn't help but feel his stomach wrench at the thought of being out on the field. He scribbled out the rest of the equations on his homework, and returned the pages to his backpack without double checking the answers like he usually did. His homework was finished, his room was clean, his chores were done, there was nothing for him to do, and his mind was spiraling. He began to pace around his room, a habit he had developed in middle school, that had just kind of stuck with him into high school. As he passed his night stand, he caught a glimpse of the sheet music Suga had given him the day before on the bedside table. He approached the papers, and found the sheet with Suga's phone number on it. He held the paper firmly, and with a deep breath he took out his phone and typed the number into his contacts. He typed out a message to him multiple times, but he couldn't think of anything to say. Finally he sent a message.

**To: Sugawara**

_**Hi** _

_Damn it, Daichi, he doesn't know it's you, he doesn't have your number._

**_It's Daichi_ **

**From: Sugawara**

_**salutations, sir daichi** _

The dopiest smile spread across Daichi's cheeks.

**To: Sugawara**

_**How are you?** _

**From: Sugawara**

**_u text like an old man. i'm good :) u?_ **

**To: Sugawara**

**_Pardon me for having proper grammar and manners. And I'm wonderful._ **

It took a while for Daichi to get a response. He was beginning to wonder if he had offended Suga in saying he didn't have manners. He smacked his forehead with his hand and fell backwards onto his bed. After lying in regret for what seemed like an eternity, his phone buzzed on his chest.

**From: Sugawara**

_**do u have a bike?** _

**To: Sugawara**

_**Yes. Why?** _

**From: Sugawara**

_**are you busy?** _

Daichi eagerly typed back his response.

**To: Sugawara**

_**Not at all.** _

_Maybe that was a little too eager, Daichi..._

**From: Sugawara**

_**meet me at the 7/11 on 5th street?** _

**To: Sugawara**

**Ok.**

Daichi jumped off of his bed faster than any practice drill he had ever run in football practice. He slipped on his shoes, and made his way downstairs.

"Mom, can I go on a bike ride with a friend?" He asked, tightening the laces of his shoes.

"Daichi, dear, you're eighteen years old, you don't have to ask me permission for things like that anymore. Just remember your curfew. And a helmet!" His mother called from the couch. He crossed the room to her and planted a kiss on the top of her head before exiting the house and entering the garage. He pumped up his bike tires with air as fast as he could, and wiped down the frame, which had gotten dusty from sitting in the dark garage for so long. Daichi couldn't even remember the last time he had ridden it... hopefully he wasn't too tall for it. He snapped the latch of his helmet under his chin. _Suga is definitely going to tease me for this._ He smiled and shook his head. He didn't mind.

He had grown just enough since the last time he had ridden his bike that his knees bumped the handlebars as he pedaled. Each time his knee made contact with the metal he winced, but eventually, he arrived at the 7/11. As he pedaled up to the parking lot, he saw that Sugawara had beaten him there, and he stood leaning up against the same powder blue bike he rode to school. As soon as Suga got a glimpse of Daichi on the bike, he broke into a maniacal laugh, doubled over, gripping his stomach. Daichi pressed his lips into a tight line, but when he was close enough to actually hear Suga's laugh, he couldn't help but break into a smile.

"Is that your very first bike or something?" Suga said through giggles.

"No. It's only a few years old." Daichi said, his cheeks blushing.

"Whatever. C'mon, let's get some snacks." Suga motioned to the gas station, and Daichi followed. Suga looked to be in his element as he perused the snack shelves, snatching various candies, chip bags, and sweets. He filled a large cup with multiple brightly colored Slurpee flavors. Daichi followed aimlessly near Suga, eyeing everything on the shelves. Finally he settled on a bottle of Root Beer, and a bag of gummy bears. Suga, on the other hand, had an armful of snacks that he dropped onto the counter. Once their purchase was all bagged, they exited, heading back to their bikes.

"Are we going somewhere?" Daichi asked, wringing his hands on the plastic grocery bag.

"Dunno." Suga said as he mounted his bike and replaced the kickstand. He started to pedal off, but then stopped to look back at Daichi. "Are you going to follow me, or what?" Daichi scurried onto his own bike and peeled out behind Sugawara. They rode for a while, Daichi never knowing where the destination was, but he trusted Suga's judgement. Finally, Suga came to a halt and got off of his bike. They had ended up outside of the football stadium, which was dark and empty. Daichi's stomach began to churn, as he thought about the game they would have to play the day after tomorrow.

"Not a fan of the sport, but the venue sure is a sight." Suga said as he dropped his bike to the ground and approached the chain link fence. He wrapped his fingers around the metal and stared aimlessly out onto the field. Daichi stood a few feet back, on the sidewalk, watching Suga admire the stadium. _Those jeans fit him really well._ Daichi thought, his cheeks flushing with color. _What the hell... Daichi literally why the fuck would you think that?_

"I don't think I'll be that great at being student section leader." Suga said after a few moments of silence. Daichi was taken aback by his honesty, even though he should have been learning to expect it by now.

"You said you had friends in the student council that appointed you right?" Daichi asked as Suga nodded softly in reply. "Oikawa is student body president, he wouldn't let you be student section leader if he thought you would do poorly." Daichi laughed. He had known Oikawa almost as long as he had known Asahi. "If he thought you would have done _that_ poorly, he would have just done it himself. It's actually surprising that he trusted anyone enough to be section leader. Especially since Iwaizumi is team captain for football this year." Suga swallowed a lump that had been swelling in his throat.

"It's your turn." Suga said without looking at Daichi. Daichi furrowed his brows.

"My turn?" 

"I said something embarrassing so now you do too." Daichi sighed and took a moment to gather his thoughts.

"I wanted to be a starter for the game this Friday really badly. I worked really hard for it. But deep down, I'm kind of relieved that I might not play much. It's really hard to come into an already established team." 

"Heh, pussy." Suga called out as he finally looked back to Daichi.

"That was uncalled for." Daichi scolded.

"Gosh, I'm kidding. I know all about it." Suga finally walked away from the fence. "Joined the volleyball team, made varsity, but now I never play, because Oikawa and I are both setters. And even then I'm not even the second choice to set because of the freshman setter this year. It's... a humbling experience to say the least."

"So I guess we are both failures." Daichi said with a sigh.

"I don't fail at anything, Daichi." Suga grinned. "I have a feeling you don't either." Suga ripped open one of the bags of the candy he had purchased and threw a handful into his mouth. Daichi watched him cautiously as he ate more candy.

"I can't help but feel like I fail at things." Daichi admitted.

"Well that's because you're a hard-ass." 

"You don't know anything about my ass." Suga snorted.

"Dude, I've known you for less than a week and I can already tell that you're like, a mega perfectionist. I thought you were going to explode in sign language when you couldn't do certain signs right." Suga giggled at the memory of Daichi folded over his desk, struggling intensely with whatever sign they were learning.

"I just want everything to go well." 

"Well... that doesn't mean perfection." Suga offered candy to Daichi, who graciously accepted.

"I guess you're right on that one. I'll get back to you when my brain starts to think that way." Suga took a step closer to Daichi and leaned in close to him. He then flicked him square on the forehead. Daichi yelped and slapped his hand across his forehead.

"What the hell?" 

"I was encouraging your brain to think differently." He grinned at Daichi who squinted back at him. 

Once Suga had devoured most of his snacks and gulped down his Slurpee, he mounted his bike again. 

"Thanks. I really needed to get out of the house tonight." Daichi admitted.

"Your wish is my command." Suga began to pedal off, but then stopped. "If you want to stay out longer, you could ride home with me." Without waiting for a response, he took off down the sidewalk, and Daichi more than happily obliged. He pedaled behind Suga for a while, until they finally stopped in front of a small house. It was a pastel yellow color, and was visibly old... probably one of the oldest houses in town. In front of the house, the flower beds tightly treaded the line between well-kept and overgrown. They were filled with brightly colored flowers all different lengths and heights. Suga turned into the driveway, and yawned. 

"Thanks, Daichi." He called out behind him.

"See you tomorrow." Daichi watched as Suga walked the bike behind the house, and then he finally pedaled home. He felt content at first, but deep down he wanted to spend more time with Suga. _Daichi... you are officially losing it._

\----

The next morning, Daichi was awakened by a call on his phone rather than his alarm clock like he usually was. He rubbed his eyes to decipher if the call was worth answering or not, but as soon as he read the caller ID, he frantically grabbed the phone and answered the call.

"Daichi?" Sugawara's voice asked from the other line. He sounded tired... had he been crying?

"What's up?" He answered groggily.

"Can you please give me a ride to school?" Daichi blinked. He and Asahi were already taking Nishinoya to school that day too... but there was no way he was about to say no to him.

"I'll ask Asahi. And then I'll let you know. If he can't, then I can see if my mom can take us." Daichi didn't need to be in person with him to feel the tension leave Sugawara.

"Thank you." The call ended, and Daichi dialed Asahi, who answered him as groggily as he had answered Suga.

"Can we take Suga to school this morning? He didn't tell me why, but he called me. He sounded pretty upset." Daichi waited for a response.

"Uhh.... sure. You know where his house is?" Asahi asked through a yawn.

"Yes. It's not far from Nishinoya's I biked there last night." 

"Alrighty then sounds like a plan... Gotta go, see ya in a few." Asahi hung up the phone and Daichi typed out a text to Suga.

**To: Sugawara**

**_We're good to go. I can text you when we are almost there._ **

**From: Sugawara**

**thank you.**

Asahi and Daichi left with more urgency than usual, being that they had an extra stop on the way to school. Luckily for them, one side effect of Noya being a ball of energy is that he generally woke up early enough for school, so they only had to wait a few moments to get into the car. 

"We're taking Sugawara to school too?" Noya asked eagerly from the back seat.

"Yes, so please scoot over..." Daichi requested firmly, and Noya reluctantly scooted from the middle seat to the one behind Asahi.

"Doesn't Suga usually ride his bike to school?" Asahi asked as they stopped at a stop sign.

"Yeah... and he had it last night." Daichi frowned.

"You were hanging out with Suga last night? Get it, Daichi-man!!!" Noya clapped Daichi's shoulder from across the seat.

"Literally, what does that mean, Noya?" 

"Oh you know what it means." Noya smirked.

"No, I don't." Daichi scowled and typed out a message to Suga.

**To: Sugawara**

_**Two blocks away. Be there in a couple minutes.** _

**From Sugawara:**

_**i'm outside** _

Daichi directed Asahi to Suga's driveway. As he pulled in, they all noticed Suga sitting on the front porch stairs, his knees close against his chest. He looked up when they pulled in. He hopped down, crossed the yard and stepped into the backseat.

"Thank you, Asahi." He greeted. He held a twenty dollar bill over the console to Asahi. "Here. For gas money."

"Oh, it's no big deal really." Asahi smiled back at Suga who scowled and shoved the money back into his pocket. They pulled out of the driveway in silence, but as Sugawara scanned the inside of the car, he noticed that Nishinoya had been staring at him.

"You have a cool beauty mark." Noya said as he pointed to Suga's face. He hovered his finger above the small mole under his left eye.

"Uhm.... thank you?" Suga said awkwardly.

"No problem." Noya said proudly. "I've got a cool one too!" He started to take his hoodie off. Daichi turned around to make sure Noya wasn't getting completely naked in the backseat. As soon as Noya started to take off his t-shirt, the men in the front seat began to loudly scold him. "What???!! It looks like I have a third nipple! You've seen it Asahi!!!!" Asahi's face turned bright red.

"At the pool party." Asahi specified as he cleared his throat, and Noya laughed. Suga found the conversation amusing, he really did, but he had had such a terribly hectic morning that he couldn't bring himself to laugh. His eyes were locked on the window.

They pulled into the school parking lot a few minutes later, and they all exited the car. As Noya and Asahi moved off ahead toward the school, but Daichi and Suga strayed behind.

"I'm sorry about Noya, he has a thing for invading personal spa-" Before Daichi finished his sentence Sugawara wrapped him in a tight embrace. Daichi froze for a moment, but after a quick hesitation, he wrapped his arms around Suga. 

"Sorry." Suga said, finally pulling away from the hug. Daichi looked down and noticed that there were tear stains on his shirt from where Suga had pressed his face into his chest. "Thanks for the ride... Someone stole my bike."

"It's no problem." Daichi decided that he was better not asking anymore questions. He figured this was about more than his bike, but he didn't know how to ask that. Suga wiped his eyes with the back of his wrist as the two boys walked through the parking lot and into school together.


	7. Friends?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It's none of your business Daichi...
> 
> he wishes it was though.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> uhm so I tried to make this kind of angsty I usually explicitly write fluffy shit, but..... yeah here is this....

Suga waved goodbye to Daichi, and walked his bike around to the back of his house without watching him pedal off. He was exhausted, so incredibly tired that he could barely keep his eyes open. It wasn't super late, and was just beginning to become dark outside, but he still couldn't wait to fling himself into bed. In the haze of his tiredness, he didn't lock his bike up the way he usually did, but rather left it leaning against the back of his house. He snuck in the back door as quietly as possible. He wasn't late getting home, he technically didn't even have a curfew, but he knew his mother wouldn't have been happy with him leaving for so long and not telling her why or where he was going. He slipped into the backdoor, into an empty kitchen. He let out a sigh of relief, and tiptoed to the stairs leading to his bedroom. He made it to his room seemingly unnoticed, and when he finally shut the door he flung himself back onto his bed. As his eyelids started to close and he began to doze off, his bedroom door flew wide open.

"Where the hell have you been?" His mother raised her tone in a shrill way that was all too familiar to Suga.

"I'm sorry, I went on a bike ride." He answered, his head shooting off of his pillow.

"Are you fucking stupid? Why wouldn't you tell me before you went?" She hissed.

"I-- I just," Suga was familiar with her harshness, but would never ever grow used to the cruel things his mother would sometimes say to him.

"What if something would have happened to you?" She threw her arms up in the air. "I would have had to call your father and get him involved and he would have to cross the country to help me find your sorry ass." She crossed her arms in front of her and glared at her son.

"Mom." Suga said, holding back the tears that were welling in his eyes. "I'm sorry."

"Sorry my ass. If you're so sorry about it, you shouldn't have done it in the first place." She spat.

"I wasn't alone though, I was with a friend." He clarified. She rolled her eyes.

"Do I look like I care, Koshi? You should know better." She tried to make a calm face, but in actuality she looked as if she were seething with rage. _Over a bike ride?_ Suga thought to himself. _This is a new low for her._ "Don't do it ever again." Suga nodded his head vigorously. "I don't know what I would do if anything ever happened to you." The sudden gentleness in her tone made Suga's blood run cold. This was so like her... She would berate Suga over the simplest most trivial un-punishable thing, and then like the flip of a coin she suddenly became mother of the year.

"I know. I'm sorry..." Suga said, hanging his head in defeat. There was no point in defending himself.

She crossed the room and ran her hand across Suga's cheek. She lifted his chin, and then kissed his forehead. He closed his eyes, and sucked in a sharp breath as his mother left the room. As the door shut, he fell back onto his pillow and buried his head in it. Tears streamed from his eyes, but he tried the best he could to keep them as quiet as possible. He slowly dozed off, his mother's words ringing in his mind. _She doesn't mean it.... She doesn't mean it...._

Suga woke up to the same alarm that he woke up to every morning. His eyes were swollen from crying himself to sleep, and his body was sore from riding his bike, and from volleyball practice. He raised his arms high above his head and stretched. He readied himself for school, got dressed, ran his fingers through his messy grey hair in an attempt to tame it, and tied his shoes. As he exited the back door of the house, his heart sunk into the pit of his stomach. His bike was gone. He hadn't chained it up when he got home last night, and forgot to do so later after his mother had yelled at him. Suga's heart rate skyrocketed, thinking of the chaos that was about to unfold as a result of his bike being stolen. He reentered his house and found his mother inside.

"Mom." He called from the doorway of her bedroom. " S-someone stole my bike. It's gone." Suga braced himself for a poor reaction.

"Should have locked it up I guess." His mother said, without looking up from what she was doing. Suga furrowed his eyebrows as he felt a lump rising in his throat. "Better start savin' for a new one and figure out a way to get your ass to school because I'm not taking you." She barked, and Suga left the doorway without answering her. After crying so much last night, Suga would have assumed that he wouldn't have any tears left in his body, but the new set of tears streaming down his cheeks proved him wrong. _Stop it, Suga. Take a deep breath._ He told himself, attempting to take a deep breath, but ultimately failing. This was the last thing he needed to deal with right now. He ran through a list of options of what he could do in his mind... it was too late for him to walk and make it to school on time.... _Daichi!_ He pulled his phone from his pocket and shakily dialed Daichi's number. It rang for a while, but eventually, he picked up.

"Daichi?" Suga asked. He had tried to calm himself down, but he was sure his voice still sounded shaken up over the phone.

He asked Daichi for a ride, and he happily obliged, even offering to have his mom take the two of them to school if Asahi was unable. He frowned at Daichi's confidence in his mother's kindness and reliability. Suga had a hard time remembering the last time he could undoubtedly rely on his mother for something, which was especially problematic considering his only other parental figure was halfway across the country and not particularly present himself. She left the house, passing by Suga barely saying goodbye as she climbed into her car and left for work, traveling a route that she could have easily altered in order to take her son to school. Suga followed close behind her, locking the front door behind him before taking a seat on the concrete stairs in front of his house. He pulled his knees in close to his chest and rested his face on them. _Everything is under control Suga, Asahi and Daichi are on their way and will take you to school, everything is fine Suga, please do not start crying again._ He did his best to regulate his breathing, but his short breaths were shaky and shallow. He looked up to see a Subaru pulling into the driveway, with Daichi in the passenger seat. Daichi smiled at Suga, but he didn't return the smile. Instead he slowly stood up and entered the car.

Deep down he was grateful that Asahi didn't take the gas money he offered, because he was going to need to save every penny he had to buy a new bike. Suga bit the inside of the cheek. _You should have gotten a car when mom and dad offered..._ He glanced around the car and locked eyes with Nishinoya who had been staring at him. 

"You have a cool beauty mark." The boy complimented. Suga felt the warmth of his kindness, but wasn't really in the right headspace to answer the compliment well.

"Uhm... thank you?" Was all he could manage in response. The car then broke into borderline chaos as Noya began to remove his clothes in order to show Suga his 'third nipple.' Internally, Suga was so frustrated for not being in a better mood. He was so amused with all that was occurring in the car. Nishinoya was stripping, Daichi activated full dad-mode, Asahi was as red as a tomato, and Suga was loving every second of it, he truly was... he was just having a hard time showing it this morning. His chest tightened as they pulled into the school parking lot.

Suga watched as Noya and Asahi walked towards the school, but he didn't start walking as soon. Daichi noticed and also hung back by the car.

"I'm sorry about Noya, he has a thing for invading personal spa-" Daichi apologized. Suga didn't care about Noya's behavior. Before Daichi could finish apologizing, Suga threw himself into him, wrapping his arms around him. At first he thought he overstepped his boundaries, but as he felt Daichi's arms wrap around him, he began to cry again. He pressed his face into Daichi's chest. He wasn't sure how long they hugged. He finally released Daichi. _Way to go, Suga. You've become emotionally dependent on a guy who has known you for less than a week. He probably doesn't even consider me a friend_ _yet._

"Sorry." Suga wiped his eyes with the back of his wrist. "Thanks for the ride... someone stole my bike." 

"It's no problem." Daichi answered, his voice as gentle and caring as it always was. Suga sighed. The boys walked into school together, without saying a word to each other. Suga felt like he owed Daichi a greater explanation for his tears, but he also knew that he wouldn't be upset if he didn't tell him just yet. He didn’t want to tell anyone about his mother’s harshness, especially Daichi, who seemed to have such a kind and loving mother and a functional relationship with her to boot. They entered the main hallway, and as they turned to go to their separate classes, Daichi grabbed Suga's wrist before he could walk away.

"Text me if you need anything today." He said, staring intensely at Suga who just blinked back. "Okay?"

"Thank you." Daichi loosened his grip on Suga's wrist and Suga scurried off to his first period class. Daichi frowned as he watched Suga walk away. He could tell something more was wrong with Suga than just a stolen bike, but he'd known the guy for less than a week... _He probably doesn't even consider me a friend yet, he definitely wouldn't feel comfortable telling me what's wrong._ Daichi released a huge sigh and made his way to class. He had a feeling it was going to be a long two days.

By the time lunch made its way around, Daichi was eager to check on Suga to make sure he had been doing okay since they parted ways before first period. Daichi didn't usually zone out in class, but today, he couldn't focus at all. At first he thought he was worried about Suga, simply because it was taking his mind off of his own problems, but the more he thought about it, the more he realized he was genuinely concerned for him. 

Daichi scanned the lunch line to see if Suga was still in it, but he didn't see him. As he glanced around, he saw Suga walk past the lunch room doors. Daichi jumped away from his seat and jogged to meet Suga in the hallway.

"H-hey!" He called out, barely catching Suga's attention. "Where are you going?"

"Practice room." Suga answered.

"Did you already eat lunch?" Daichi asked. _It's really none of your business if he's eaten lunch already, Daichi._ Suga hesitated before answering.

"No." Daichi scowled.

"Have you eaten anything since last night?" _It's none of your business, Daichi...._

"No." 

"Why don't you come get something and eat with me and the guys?" Daichi motioned back to his table in the lunchroom. He expected Suga to decline, and keep walking down the hallway, but instead Suga turned slowly and followed Daichi back into the lunch room. They sat at their usual seats at the lunch table, joining Asahi, Noya, Tanaka and Bokuto. 

"Do you have money for school lunch?" Daichi asked Suga quietly. Suga wasn't about to tell Daichi that he got lunch for free because he lived in a low-income single parent household, so he slowly nodded his head and got into the lunch line.

"Is Sugawara okay?" Asahi asked Daichi, his face twisting with concern.

"No. But I'm not sure what's wrong. Someone stole his bike last night, that's why he needed a ride today, but he seems awfully upset over something like that." Daichi shook his head.

"I'll ask him!" Noya flapped his hand in the air.

"Absolutely not, Nishinoya." Daichi snapped at him.

"Then why don't you ask him?" Tanaka interjected. 

"Because we're not even close friends, I just... I don't think he'd want to tell me." Daichi sighed. The other boys at the table exchanged knowing glances. 

"Whatever you think is best, Daichi Man." Bokuto said from across the table. As their conversation came to a close, Sugawara had returned to the table with a tray of dull looking cafeteria food. Daichi, Asahi and Suga ate quietly while Noya, Tanaka and Bokuto rambled on about something on the other half of the table. All of a sudden, a familiar figure approached the table. He walked up behind Daichi and rested his hands on his shoulders and his chin on the top of his head.

"Hello, Daichi." Oikawa said sweetly. "I didn't know you were friends with my dear Suga here." Suga didn't look up from his lunch tray.

"We met in Sign Language class." Daichi explained. 

"So sorry for you. He's such a little shit, isn't he?" Oikawa asked mockingly. Suga finally looked up from his lunch tray to glare at Oikawa.

"Not at all.... What brings you to the lunch room? Don't you usually eat in your car?" Oikawa smirked as he traipsed around the table and slid into the seat next to Asahi. 

"Just waiting for Iwaizumi. He's trying to convince the lunch lady to give him extra pizza. Gotta bulk up for the big game tomorrow." Oikawa winked at Daichi. 

"The only thing more pizza from the cafeteria is going to give you is food poisoning!" Tanaka exclaimed as he took a bite out of his own cafeteria pizza. Oikawa shrugged.

"You think Iwa and I will be on Homecoming court this year?" He rested his chin on his hands. 

"Probably! Student body president, and the football team captain? You guys are like celebrities!!" Noya answered excitedly. 

"Ugh, I know aren't we?" Oikawa grinned. "Hopefully the school board isn't too scared to have two homecoming kings. I know I'll beat out all the queen candidates. And if people don't vote for Iwa then there is something certifiably wrong with them."

"That seems kind of presumptuous of you..." Daichi noted.

"You know me so well, Daichi." Oikawa answered as Iwaizumi approached the table behind Oikawa.

"Ready to go, shithead?" He said. He must have been successful in his endeavors with persuading the lunch ladies, as he had four pieces of pizza stacked on his lunch tray.

"You always know exactly what to say." Oikawa said getting up from the table. The larger man wrapped his arm around Oikawa's waist. "Gonna go eat lunch! See ya, nerds!!" He called out behind him as they exited the lunch room. 

"Man, they are so cool." Noya said. Somehow in the midst of that encounter he had decided to sit on the table, and he was now sitting cross legged in front of Daichi who just glared at him. Suga pushed his greyish vegetables around on his plate. The lunch bell rang, and Suga had eaten less than a quarter of his lunch, but it was better than nothing. He tossed the rest of the tray into the trash and left the lunch room with Daichi. 

Once in Sign Language, they sat for a few minutes receiving instruction from the teacher, before splitting off into their partners. Daichi walked across the room to Suga's desk where he discovered that he had fallen asleep. His cheek was resting on his hand and his lips were slightly parted. Daichi smiled softly, and sat down. He moved his desk at an angle so that the teacher wouldn't be able to see Suga napping. He sat quietly practicing his signs to himself as Suga slept.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> fuck suga's mom me and my homies hate suga's mom


	8. Pep Rally

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Daichi is a ball of nerves and no one knows how to help.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> okay sorry this one took so long to come out

The gymnasium lights glared off of if the waxed floor. Daichi's team mates ran down the court as he broke off from them. The screams of the crows blended with the shouts of the players and the dribbling of the ball. Daichi heard his name called, his head snapped to the noise, all of a sudden the basketball had been passed right to him. He charged to the net, and made a shot, right as the buzzer blared. The crowd erupted and Daichi watched as his team and the student section ran to him and joined in a large group hug. They cheered and yelled, some of the seniors hoisting the sophomore Daichi up onto their shoulders, congratulating him for making the game winning shot. His parents were there, and they were beaming with pride. He absorbed the praises of his coach, the players, and the referees. _This is it Daichi. You did it._ He grinned and looked around taking in his surroundings. Then as he blinked, his vision grew blurry and distorted. He squinted in attempts to focus his eyes, and when he was finally able to see straight, he was standing on the football field. Unlike the basketball court, where he was surrounded by all of his teammates, he was now alone on the field, with no clue of what to do next.

Daichi's head shot up off his pillow. He was covered in sweat, and breathing heavily. The clock on his bed side table read 4:26 am. Daichi groaned and fell back onto his pillow. _It's just a fucking football game, Daichi,_ he tried to reassure himself. His reassurance ultimately failed though, and he resorted to pacing, like usual. His bare feet pattered around his carpeted floor, a million and one scenarios running through his mind. _Damn it, Daichi. You need to get some rest, this is not going to help your case._ He knew he needed to go back to sleep, but his body had other plans. He sat on the edge of his bed as his 5:30am alarm began to sound off. He sighed and snoozed it. He never woke up this early, but he figured something like this would happen. He took an uncomfortably cold shower in an attempt to shake the nerves. But it didn't work, and now was wet, cold _and_ anxious. 

Nevertheless, he still had to go to school and he still had to go to the game, there was no way around it. He slipped his orange practice jersey over a t-shirt, and added a pair of black joggers to finish the look. He looked at himself in the mirror and scowled. He removed the practice jersey and replaced it with a t-shirt. He neatly folded the jersey and slipped it into his bag... he would need it for the pep rally, but he didn't want to draw more attention to him being a football player than he had to. _Daichi, you are losing it._ He ran his hands through his hair, and made his way to the kitchen. 

"Oh! Daichi!!!!" His mother cooed at the sight of him. "My big football player!" She wrapped him in a hug as he tried to push away. 

"Mom, please, not right now." He patted her back and she reluctantly released him from her grip. His father sat at the kitchen table sipping on a coffee mug.

"I think you boys will have a good shot at winning tonight," he said briskly, "That school you're playing had a shit record last year, and they haven't won any games this season." Daichi knew that was supposed to be encouragement, but he still felt incredibly nervous. _Imagine if we got beat by a loser school... that never would have happened before you were on the team._ Daichi blinked. _Stop._

"Let me come over and get a picture of you and Asahi!" His mom pulled a smart phone out of her pocket and fumbled to open the camera. Daichi motioned for her to put it away.

"We'll take one mom. I'll text it to you." Daichi fibbed.

"Well don't forget like you did last time." His mother instructed knowingly. Daichi bent over and kissed his mom on the cheek. He grabbed a granola bar out of the cabinet and made his way to the front door.

"See you later, guys!" He said. His parents waved goodbye and he exited. As soon as he was outside, his nerves came right back. _It never got this bad for any other sport I've played. What is the deal?_

Asahi was already in the car by the time Daichi got to his driveway.

"Hey, we've got to pick up Tanaka today too." Asahi informed Daichi as he buckled his seatbelt. That brought them to three extra passengers, as Noya needed a ride, and they were taking Suga to school until further notice.

"Doesn't Tanaka live on the other side of town?" Daichi asked, checking the clock. 

"That's why we're hurrying." Asahi said as he backed out of the driveway.

The boys sat in the parking lot of Nishinoya's apartment complex longer than they ever had before.

"What is taking him so long?" Asahi asked, wringing his hands nervously. "This is so unlike him..." 

Almost as if Asahi's nerves summoned him, Noya emerged from the main door of the complex. Asahi let go of a small breath of relief. Noya was wearing his cheerleading warm-up sweatsuit. A few paces behind him came Tanaka, decked out in his practice jersey, with a large black headband wrapped around his forehead. Daichi and Asahi exchanged concerned glances. The two juniors made their way into the backseat.

"Good morning, ladies!" Tanaka greeted as he scooted into the seat.

"Tanaka and I had a sleepover last night." Noya said as he leaned over the center console.

"On a school night?" Daichi asked, genuinely concerned.

"Sure thing." Tanka said as he crossed his arms across his chest. As they pulled out of the driveway, Tanaka questioned whether or not he could find a girlfriend by the end of football season. "I want to be able to give my practice jersey to her, so she can wear it during the game!!" He clutched the fabric on his chest and the other boys in the car laughed.

"No offense, Tanaka, but you're like super desperate." Nishinoya said as he slapped Tanaka's shaved head.

"You think I don't know that!?" He groaned and leaned his head onto the head rest.

As the car grew closer to Sugawara's house, Daichi felt nervous. Suga had been in a terrible mood the day before, and Daichi was worried that he might still be upset. When they dropped him off at home after school, he barely even said goodbye. They pulled into the driveway in front of the small yellow house, and Daichi twiddled his thumbs, anxious to see how Sugawara was going to act today. As the front door closed, Daichi realized that he wasn't going to have to worry about Suga being in a bad mood today, as he seemed to be a completely different person than he was the day before. He wore a similar headband to the one Tanaka wore, but the real focal point of his outfit was the overalls.... the overalls? Daichi's eyes opened wide at the sight of Sugawara's outfit. He wore a pair of oversized black and orange striped overalls, with a white t-shirt underneath. He jogged up to the car and eagerly climbed inside.

"IT'S GAME DAY!" He shouted once he was in the car. Noya and Tanaka matched his energy and began to shout in response. Asahi and Daichi however couldn't seem to understand the drastic shift in Suga's attitude.

"Those overalls are sick, Suga!" Noya said as he leaned so far over Suga he may as well have been sitting on his lap. Suga smiled wide.

"Wait until during the game," Suga smirked. "Gotta wear a shirt during the school day, but as soon as I step foot into the stadium, this baby is gone!!!!" Suga tugged at his t-shirt. Tanaka and Noya cheered as Suga pretended to bow graciously. Daichi's face grew hot suddenly. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw that Asahi had been stealing glances at him, so he turned his head to the window. 

The rest of the student body had a similar attitude to the backseat of Asahi's car, and it showed as they pulled into the parking lot. The cheerleaders all wore their uniforms, most of the student body sporting the orange and black of their logo. Daichi watched as his football teammates walked hand in hand with their girlfriends, all dressed in their respective boyfriend's practice jerseys. He felt a knot growing in his stomach.

As Asahi pulled into a parking spot, Tanaka and Noya hopped out of the car before it was even in park. Asahi gasped as the door flung open, and Daichi and Suga just laughed. Daichi and Suga actually waited until the car had come to a complete stop to get out. They stood next to each other for a short moment, not saying anything. Finally, Daichi awkwardly broke the silence.

"I'm glad you're feeling better today." As soon as the words left his mouth, he realized that they probably shouldn't have. Suga looked up at him. He made a strange face that Daichi had never seen him make before... disgusted? teasing? happy? Daichi could not read whatever emotion Suga was attempting to portray.

"I have no clue what you're talking about." Suga winked at him, and ran off in the direction of Oikawa, who was entering the school with Iwaizumi. Daichi frowned and scratched his head. _What the hell?_

"You good man?" Asahi circled around the car to stand next to his best friend.

"I told Suga that I was glad he was feeling better, and he said he didn't know what I was talking about." 

"Well, maybe he doesn't want to think about it." Asahi shrugged. They walked into school together. The hallways were louder than normal, energy coursing through everyone as they prepared for the big game. As he and Asahi walked down the hall, Daichi saw Suga speaking with Oikawa and Iwaizumi. Iwaizumi's practice jersey was far too big for Oikawa, but he wore it anyway, the extra fabric sitting loosely on his skinny frame. Iwaizumi caught sight of Daichi and Asahi as they passed, and he crossed to meet them. He clapped his hands on Asahi's broad shoulders, and he flinched upon impact.

"Well Daichi... today's the big day. You gonna pussy out?" Iwaizumi asked. Daichi gulped.

"No." Was the extent of the answer he could muster.

"HAH!" Iwaizumi wrapped his arm around Daichi's shoulder. "You look like shit. Don't worry about it man. You'll be great." He elbowed Asahi in the side. "It's this one we've got to be worried about. Man's a loose canon." Asahi tucked a piece of hair behind his ear.

"Heh, uhm.... maybe sometimes." Asahi awkwardly giggled. Iwaizumi slapped his back.

"Ahhh, this guy." He laughed and walked away from the conversation without saying goodbye. Daichi and Asahi split off and both went to their respective classrooms. Daichi was a mess, all day. He had a nervous shake in his leg, and a pounding headache. He sat frustrated in class as he couldn't concentrate. Once lunchtime rolled around, he was losing it. He sat at the lunch table, his forehead pressed against the cold table. His friends watched him cautiously, not sure whether or not they should interact with him. The attention shifted as Sugawara approached the table. He saw Daichi, and scoffed.

"What's his deal?" He asked as he slid in next to Daichi.

"He's nervous." Asahi said. Noya climbed across the table towards Asahi.

"He's totally shitting his pants over the football game tonight!!" Noya told Suga, who frowned at the new information. Suga flicked the back of Daichi's head and he sat up quickly.

"Daichi." Suga said. There was a red mark on Daichi's forehead from where he had been pressing it into the table. "I've been informed that you're shitting your pants over the game tonight." Daichi blinked at Suga and Noya cackled on his side of the table.

"No, I'm not." Daichi fibbed. Everyone at the table rolled their eyes. "I'm not!!"

"You've got everyone else fooled, but we know you better than that, Daichi-Man." Tanaka said as he slung his arm around Daichi's shoulder. They spent most of lunch trying to reassure Daichi, telling him that there was no way the game would be as bad as he thought it would be. The whole time, Daichi's head was spinning. He had always had anxiety over things, but this was unprecedented, and he had no idea how to stop it. Asahi, Noya, Tanaka, and Bokuto were all simultaneously shoving positive affirmations down his throat, and his leg began to bounce up and down again. All of a sudden, he felt a hand on his knee. He looked at Suga who was staring back at him. Daichi opened his mouth to say something, but the lunch bell rang, and Suga removed his hand and stood up. Daichi felt like he was glued to the lunch table. _What just happened??_ At least Daichi's leg had stopped shaking.

"Dude. You coming to class?" Suga asked from behind Daichi, who finally snapped back to reality.

"Yep! Sorry." He messily gathered his trash and followed Suga out of the lunch room. Asahi watched Daichi fumble across the lunch room behind Suga. He crossed his arms across his chest. Noya skittered next to Asahi and flicked his arm.

"Daichi's a mess." Noya said.

"Probably doesn't help that he has a huge crush on Sugawara." Asahi snorted. As soon as the words left his lips, he slapped his hand over his mouth. "I shouldn't have said that."

"You noticed too?" Noya said excitedly. "I thought I was the only one."

"He hasn't said anything to me, but he doesn't have to. That man is an open book." Asahi laughed.

\----

A written pop quiz in Sign Language was the last thing Daichi needed today. His last class before the pep rally, and he had to sit and write down the meanings of different signs as the teacher performed them in front of the class. Luckily for him, he was better at interpreting signs than he was at actually signing them, so he felt confident about his answers. That didn't mean that the class period didn't drag out to be painfully long though. Finally, as the bell rang, the hallways flooded with students making their way to the gymnasium for the pep rally. The football team congregated in the hallway, preparing to make their big entrance in front of the school. Tanaka and Bokuto stood yelling at each other, upon first glance Daichi thought they were fighting, but when he looked again he decided that they were actually just yelling to yell. Iwaizumi stood in the doorway and watched as Oikawa addressed the student body. He effortlessly commanded their attention. Daichi pushed closer to the doorway to get a peak of the gymnasium. He noticed Sugawara sitting on the floor in front of the senior section. Since the last time he had seen him, he had painted black stripes under his eyes with face paint. Daichi smiled as Oikawa introduced Suga to the student body. Upon mention of his name, Suga began to scream, the senior section following suit. As the seniors yelled, the younger grades realized that they also should probably scream too, and soon enough, the entire gym was full of cheers and screams. Suga grabbed a large wooden stick, the spirit stick, and ran laps around the gym, pointing the stick to each section as he passed. Daichi was exhausted just watching Suga exert himself, but it didn't even look like Suga broke a sweat. 

Once Suga had finished his rounds around the gym, Oikawa called the students attention. 

"Without further ado, give a warm welcome to the Karasuno high school football team!"

The students erupted into cheers once more as the team paraded into the gymnasium. Daichi jogged close beside Asahi as the team made its way to the center of the court. Oikawa handed the microphone to Iwaizumi who graciously accepted it. He spoke confidently to the student body, reassuring them that he would lead the team to victory. The freshman girls squealed with delight when he turned and addressed the freshman class individually and Oikawa sneered. Daichi had spaced out but when he finally realized what was going on, the microphone was being passed around amongst the seniors. His eyes grew wide at the thought of having to say something. 

"THIS IS GOING TO BE THE BEST SEASON YET!" Bokuto shouted as he passed the microphone to Daichi who just stared at the audience for a few moments. His glance met Suga's in the stands, and he watched as Suga spelled with his hand: P-U-S-S-Y. Daichi frowned.

"I'm excited for my first game. Go crows!" He finally spat out. Even at the slightest mention of the school's mascot, the stand erupted into cheers again. He let out a sigh of release and then passed the mic onto Asahi who awkwardly grabbed the mic.

"Thank you all for your support." He said with a sheepish smile. Noya screeched from the junior section, causing Asahi to blush slightly. A senior girl walked down from the stands and joined all the boys. Tanaka snuck up behind Daichi and grabbed the side of his shirt. 

"Look, Daichi." He whispered. "That's Kiyoko."

"I know, Tanaka. I've gone to school with her since kindergarten." He whispered back.

"I want to give my practice jersey to her." 

"Well, have you ever spoken to her?" He asked. Tanaka didn't answer. "If I were you, I would start with a conversation." Tanaka hung his head in defeat as Kiyoko began to speak into the microphone. 

"Hello everyone! My name is Kiyoko, and I will be working alongside Oikawa this year as student body vice president. I'm happy to announce that up next, the Karasuno varsity cheer squad is here to get you all hyped up for tonight's game." The cheerleaders flooded from the stands out onto the floor. All of the girls were yelling and cheering, but they were drowned out by Nishinoya who was so much louder than them. As the cheer squad performed their routine, the football team took their seats in front of their grade's section. Daichi sat on the floor with his teammates and watched the cheer squad perform. A while through the routine, he noticed something out of the corner of his eye. He glanced and saw Suga spelling something out to him. G-O-O-D J-O-B. He smiled sweetly and gave Daichi a thumbs up. Daichi's face flushed and he looked away. _It's almost game time, Daichi. You can do this. You have to do this._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this week in the story has lasted for ever I now realize, so one more chapter in this week and then it will start to pick up I pinky promise.
> 
> next chapter: the big game!!! shit is gonna go down!!
> 
> thank you erica and brisa for proofreading <3


	9. It's Game Time

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> the big game!

The stadium lights switched on as the stands began to fill with fans and students. It was only a few weeks into August, but as the sun began to set, the breeze became rather chilly. This did not stop Sugawara from going through with his promise from earlier that day. As he stepped foot into the stands, he removed his t-shirt and stuffed it into the pockets of his overalls. He greeted the students entering the student section with high fives and chants. His favorite freshman from volleyball and drama club came, asking for special seats in the front of the section, but they were quickly ushered to the back of the section 'where the freshman belong.' 

"Please, Suga! We want to sit in the front!" Hinata urged, his posse of freshman following closely behind.

"Sorry guys, senior privilege." Suga shrugged and they headed to the back of the section, their heads hung in defeat.

Oikawa stood at the front of the section with Suga. He leaned against the railing nonchalantly, talking to students and parents as they passed by. Once he had a moment free from conversation, he took a step towards Suga.

"Those overalls are hideous. You look like an inmate." He spat with a grin. Suga flicked him on the arm and he recoiled.

"Like you would know what an inmate looks like, pretty boy." 

"Oh, you think I'm pretty?" Oikawa fluttered his eyelashes at Suga.

"You're unbelievable." Sugawara rolled his eyes.

"I actually get that a lot." He smiled.

\----

Daichi sat on a bench in the locker room, listening as the team discussed last minute strategies. He wasn't fully paying attention though, as he was really just struggling to monitor his breathing. He spaced out for a short while, but was quickly brought back to reality by a firm slap to his shoulders. He flinched upon the impact, and looked up to see Asahi's kind face smiling down on him.

"You ready to go?" He held his hand out for Daichi to grab. Daichi did as such, and stood next to his best friend. He took a deep breath. He hadn't played an organized sport with Asahi since they were in middle school. He turned to Asahi and wrapped his arms around him. Asahi hugged him back, as he gave him a gentle pat on the back.

They followed the rest of their team out of the locker room, and out onto the corner of the field, where a large inflatable tunnel had been set up. The team lined up, ready to make their grand entrance, through the tunnel, and out onto the field. As Daichi stood and waited, he felt a smaller body ram into his. He jolted slightly, and turned to see Sugawara pushing through the sea of football players. Suga grinned when he noticed that Daichi saw him.

"Outta the way, Harold. I have to go lead your sorry ass onto the field." He winked and walked away, carrying a large orange and black flag. Daichi smiled.

The announcer's voice rang in the stadium as the team started their trek onto the field. Suga started at the front of the group, letting the flag fly high behind him as he lead the team onto the field. Daichi ran next to Asahi as the crowd and cheerleaders cried out to celebrate the football team. Daichi was shocked at the sheer amount of support they were receiving. People cared about the basketball team, but this was far beyond any support the basketball team had ever gotten. Once on the sidelines, the game was actually starting... no more pre-game rituals, no more prep, it was game time. The starting teams were called to the field. Daichi watched as Asahi, Iwaizumi, Bokuto, and Tanaka jogged out onto the field, followed by the other starters from their team. Daichi clenched his fists.  _ Daichi, 5 minutes ago you were questioning whether or not you could lie and get out of the game, and now you're mad about not starting again? Make it make sense, Daichi.  _ He relaxed his hands and turned his attention back to the field.

The game progressed much faster than he would have assumed it would have, especially since he was just watching from the sidelines. The team progressed up and down the field, following the ball as it snapped back and forth through the air. Daichi felt himself turning back to watch the student section every few minutes. He watched as Suga effortlessly commanded the attention of the students, leading them through cheers. It was almost alarming how such a loud and booming voice could come from such a dainty looking body and a sweet looking face. Daichi grinned... he knew better than to judge Suga by the way he looked. He wanted to be in the stands. Suga noticed Daichi staring from the sidelines, and he stuck his tongue out at him, held up his hand, and flipped him off. Daichi held his hands out, so as to ask 'why?', and Suga just shrugged. Daichi's attention was quickly drawn back to the game as all of the referees blew their whistles at once. The sound pierced the sky, and Daichi scanned the field to find the reason. Near the center of the field, there was a large pile of players, standing up one by one. The pile slowly diminished, until there was only one body left on the field. Daichi squinted, the person wasn't moving much, only enough to clutch their left arm up into their chest. He craned his next to get a better look. 

"Holy shit, that's Bokuto!" One of his teammates called out.

Karasuno's coach and athletic trainer sprinted onto the field, kneeling at Bokuto's side. The stadium had fallen silent, and all of the players, on the field and on the sideline, had dropped to one knee, out of respect for the injured quarterback. The coach grabbed Bokuto's right arm and helped him limp off of the field, his left arm still clutched tight to his chest. As he got closer to the sidelines, Daichi was able to see that his arm was somewhat crooked, and it was already swelling and bruising. Daichi gulped at the sight of the injury.

"Bokuto, why are you limping?" The athletic trainer asked as they left the field.

"I must have pulled a muscle, my ass hurts!" Bokuto griped, seemingly unconcerned over the fact that his arm was completely broken. 

"Daichi." The coach barked. Daichi snapped back to attention, scurrying to his coach's side. "You're in kid." He clapped his hand onto Daichi's shoulder. Daichi just stared back at him. "You got this." Daichi stumbled away from his coach, inching out onto the field. The rest of his teammates met him on the field. Asahi crossed to him, and gave him a reassuring smile.

"You got this, man." Daichi stared back at him. He scanned the field and the stands. As his eyes fell upon the student section, his focus caught on Sugawara, who stood with the biggest smile on his face. He held two thumbs up and shouted. 

"LET'S GO DAICHI!!!!!" The rest of the student section followed his lead, and cheered on the stand in quarterback.

_ You got this, Daichi. _

Daichi was like a new man on the football field. He had never been so aggressive in his whole life, but he managed to keep the ball in play, and keep the game at a tie for the entirety of the first half. Once halftime rolled around, his muscles were screaming for a break, but he knew that he would have to be back in the game soon. He sat on the bench as he squirted his water bottle into his mouth. The marching band was lining up on the edge of the field, and all of the football players were stretching to keep their muscles warm.

Suga had taken a seat in the stands to watch the halftime show when all of a sudden, he felt a body slide in next to him. He turned to face the freckly freshman that was in drama club with him.

"I already told you guys, Yams, freshmen have to sit in the back." Suga sighed.

"I know, I know, I just wanted a better view of the band! I want to show you something!" He watched attentively as the band took their position on the field. He leaned forward slightly and pointed. "There! Right there! That's Tsukki!!" He called out eagerly.

"Dude, I have no idea where you're pointing right now." Suga squinted.

"The tall blonde one in the back! With the glasses and the snare drum!" Suga followed the line of percussionists until he found the person that fit Yamaguchi's description. He was tall alright.

"And why are you showing me this gigantic drummer?" Suga asked as he crossed his arms over his chest. Yamaguchi's face grew hot.

"He's my... friend. My best friend. I convinced him to help run lights for the musical!" He smiled at Suga who returned the smile with a quizzical look.

"Okay, Yams. Thanks for letting me know." He figured that Yamaguchi would have returned to the back of the section, but he remained at the front, watching the band play. He eyed Suga nervously, expecting to be scolded and sent back to his own grade's section. Suga noticed and sighed. "It's okay... you can stay down here for halftime." Yamaguchi grinned from ear to ear and then turned his attention back to the field.

\----

Noya hopped over the fence separating the track where the cheerleaders stood to the sidelines of the football field. He scurried up to where Asahi and Daichi were sitting. He slid in next to Daichi, who jumped at the sudden movement.

"What the hell man?" Daichi asked, clutching his chest. "You're not supposed to be over here!" Daichi scolded him. Noya stuck out his bottom lip.

"I wanted to talk to my favorite seniors!!" He explained. "Daichi-Man, you are on fire out there!!!" He stood up from the bench and wrapped his arms around Daichi. Asahi watched as Daichi squirmed, trying to unlatch Noya from his body, but he tried with no avail. Finally, Nishinoya loosened his grip. "And Asahi!!!!" He hopped up on the bench so that he could stand at eye-level with the gentle giant. "You're a freakin' monster out there man!!!!" Noya smacked the sides of Asahi's helmet as Asahi giggled, his head moving back and forth. Noya tormented the seniors for a few minutes more as the marching band exited the field. "Oop. That's my cue! Gotta blast!" The cheerleader took off in a sprint onto the field to meet the rest of the cheer-squad at center field.

"He is such an interesting kid." Daichi reflected as he took another drink of water. Asahi didn't answer.

The cheerleaders performed a flawless routine, showcasing the group's talented members. Nishinoya was being vaulted up into the air, doing flips, and cheering at the top of his lungs. But once the routine was over, the game began again. Daichi had to snap out of half time mode, and get his head back in the game... literally. All of the hours he had spent training over the summer had started to come to fruition. His passes were clean, he was light on his feet, and he was able to consistently help the team score points. The only issue was that the other team was doing a rather fine job of scoring points as well. The score had stayed tied for entirety of the second half of the game. They were nearing the end, and they hadn't managed to keep a consistent lead. One final time out on the Karasuno side gave them one last chance to regain their composure. The longer they were in the game without scoring points, the more desperate they were becoming.

"We need to chill out," Iwaizumi said from the huddle. "We just need to be smart, and strong." Iwaizumi shot a supportive glance at Daichi. "We got this."

The whistles sounded and they were back on the field. It was their move, and they had an opportunity to score. Daichi took a deep breath. There was less than a minute on the scoreboard. The student section was louder than they had been for the entirety of the game leading up to now. This was it. The ball snapped into Daichi's hand, and he took off. He was being trailed by multiple other players, but he did his best to remain calm. He scanned his options, and saw Asahi, right in his line of sight. He wound his arm back, and snapped out a pass so accurate that it went directly to Asahi. He managed to catch it, despite the defense of the other team, and with only a few strides, he was in the in-zone, and the game was over. The crows had won.

The team flooded onto the field, in celebration of the victory. The stands were loud and triumphant. Daichi pushed through his teammates until he found Asahi. He threw himself onto his best friend, wrapping him in an exhausted embrace. Asahi hugged him back, and slowly but surely, the rest of the team became enveloped in a group hug. Daichi laughed as he felt the team closing in around them. _All that worrying, for this Daichi? This is great._ They finally released each other from their clutches and began their journey back to the locker room. Daichi was stopped in his tracks however, by a large hand on his shoulder. He turned around to see his coach, smiling gently at him. Daichi was taken aback by the lack of anger in his usually aggressive coach's face.

"Proud of you, Sawamura." He said as Daichi just blinked in response. "Bokuto is going to be out for at least a few weeks, and I want you to stay in his position. You more than proved yourself today." Daichi's eyes grew wide. The circumstances of him becoming a starter were far from ideal.... but he was a starter nonetheless. He grinned.

"Thank you, coach. I won't let you down."

\----

 _I'm not waiting outside of the locker room, I'm just passing by.... No that's stupid... Hinata went to the bathroom and I was_ _waiting_ _for him!.... Hinata went home at half time... Damn it._ Suga quietly stomped his foot as he began to walk away from the locker room door. As he walked away, he heard a voice call out his name. 

"Suga?" He spun on his heel to see Asahi standing a few yards behind him. 

"Oh. Hey, Asahi. Congrats. You played a good game." Suga complimented him awkwardly. 

"Thanks. You did a great job with the student section. I don't think it's been that loud in all of my years of high school." Suga blushed at the compliment.

"Oh, stop you flatter me." 

"I'm serious. You've got skills, Suga." As he said that, Daichi exited the locker room, nearly bumping into Asahi who was still standing just outside of the door.

"Oh, sorry Asahi." He turned and realized that Suga was in the hallway as well. "Hey, Suga." Asahi smiled gently and shook his head. _They're so stupid...._ Asahi thought to himself. _I love them though._

"I'm gonna go find Noya and Tanaka. I'll see you guys later." Asahi took off in the opposite direction as Suga and Daichi waved to him. 

"You got so worried about playing football, I was beginning to think you were bad at it." Suga said as he and Daichi began to walk down the hallway together. There were still families and students bustling around, waiting to greet the various players as they exited the locker room.

"Ugh. I'm ashamed that you think so lowly of me. I'm not bad at anything." Daichi grinned and elbowed Suga in the side.

"You're bad at being humble apparently." Suga remarked and Daichi laughed. "Seriously though... you played well. Makes it easier to hype up the student section if the game is actually worth watching."

"Well, it's easier to play when the student section is so loud." Daichi smiled at Suga, who looked away.

"Football is a lot more fun to watch than I remember it being. I guess I just have more reason to pay attention now." As soon as the words left his mouth, someone called Suga's name from down the hall. Both of the boys looked up to see Kiyoko standing at the end of the hall waiting for Sugawara. "Gotta go, Daichi. See ya at school." He smiled and spun around to walk away with Kiyoko. Daichi waved timidly.

 _Why was he paying more attention now?_ Daichi thought as he walked to meet his parents. _It's probably just because he has to pay attention to lead cheers and stuff..._ Daichi stuffed his hands in the pockets of his sweat pants and smiled to himself. _I'm sure that's the only reason._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> it only took nine chapters, but the fic about football finally has a football game in it!!
> 
> sorry this one took so long, college sucks <3 
> 
> thank u erica and brisa for proofreading love u both


	10. Returning A Favor

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "Do you do this every day?"

Daichi was considerably popular before he joined the football team, but he had no idea what the days after the football game had in store. Teachers he had never had were stopping him in the halls to praise him and his classmates were eager to hear the details of the game. As he sat in his classes, his classmates that didn't speak to him very often about things other than class itself were scooting their desks closer to Daichi as he disclosed his experience at Friday night's game. To be honest, Daichi was loving it. It was senior year, and he was a big dog, and he was having the time of his life. 

A few days before the next football game, Daichi sat with his friends at their lunch table. A group of cheerleaders swept by the table stopping to speak with Nishinoya. As their conversation wrapped up, their attention fell upon Daichi.

"You did sooooo good Daichi." A girl with a long blonde ponytail cooed at Daichi. Bokuto was sitting next to Daichi, and he began to groan loudly. He leaned into Daichi and pressed his face into his shoulder. A different cheerleader stopped next to Bokuto and rested her hands on his arm.

"What's wrong, Bokuto?" She asked him. "Is your arm hurting?"  


"No! Daichi is a better quarterback than me!" He wailed. The boys at the table began to snicker and Daichi grinned to himself. The two cheerleaders gasped at Bokuto's claim. As they tried to cheer up Bokuto, Sugawara approached the lunch table and slid into his seat next to Daichi. He observed what was going on at the table and giggled softly.

"Damn it, Daichi, did you break Bokuto again?" He asked, acting like a seasoned veteran to Bokuto's mood swings.

"I didn't do anything." Daichi said innocently as the two cheerleaders attempted to console Bokuto.

"It's okay, Daichi. You deserve it more than I do." Bokuto said, finally lifting his face from Daichi's shoulder. Daichi frowned, at a genuine loss for words. Almost as if he knew Daichi wanted to be rescued, Hinata bolted up to the lunch table, seemingly in a panic. He immediately ran to Sugawara and Daichi, who turned to him, concerned looks on their faces. Once he caught his breath, he was able to speak.

"I was out--- in the parking lot--- and I think--- someone broke-- into Oikawa's car!" He finally managed. Daichi and Suga both leapt to their feet, exiting the cafeteria with a sense of urgency, without any further explanation. Hinata trailed behind the two of them. 

Oikawa parked a few spots away from Asahi, so they found the car easily. And Hinata was right... There definitely was some looking for something in the back seat, although the windows were too tinted to make out more than a silhouette. The three approached the car, exchanging worried glances, not knowing who was in the car and what they were doing. Daichi inched closer to the window and knocked on it three times. Immediately upon the sound, the silhouette dipped below the window. Sugawara grabbed the door handle, and pulled on it. Surprisingly it was unlocked, and the door swung open, a shriek coming from within the car. As soon as Sugawara realized who was in the backseat he grabbed Hinata's hand and yanked him away from the car. Daichi stood and stared at Iwaizumi and Oikawa, who were both lying in the back seat of the car. Oikawa laid on his back, looking up at Daichi innocently, his hair tousled and his cheeks flushed. Iwaizumi was laying on top of Oikawa, his cheeks just as flushed as Oikawa's. 

"Suga! Did you guys catch the burglar? Make sure you get anything he stole!" Hinata said, trying to get a peek at the perpetrator. 

"Hinata, I need you to go back to the lunch room." Sugawara instructed him calmly. Hinata attempted to protest, but Suga shot a glare at him and he turned and walked back to the school. Suga walked around the car door to get a better look at what was happening. By now, both boys had sat up, and were straightening their clothes and hair.

"Were you guys having sex?" Suga finally blurted.

"No, Suga. We're not animals." Oikawa spat. Iwaizumi snickered and Oikawa slapped his arm. Daichi's cheeks were about as red as Oikawa's were when he first opened the door.

"Do you guys... do you do this every day?" He asked.

"Obviously Daichi. Ugh you're so dense. Why do you think we always eat in my car?" Oikawa asked, crossing his arms across his chest. Suga suddenly broke into hysterical laughter. He was almost doubled over, the other three boys just watching.

"Oikawa, you have no chill at all, you are so gross. I should tell coach Ukai! You would get in so much trouble!" He said between laughs.

"Do not! Suga you are such a bitch!!" Oikawa leapt out of the car and began to smack Suga, who continued laughing through the beating. 

"I can't believe Hinata thought someone broke into your car!" Suga cried through the laughter.

"And I can't believe we believed him." Daichi said, the stern expression on his face slowly creeping into a smile. "I guess we can just.... leave you guys to it?" Daichi shrugged and started to back away from the car.

"You better not tell anyone about this." Oikawa wagged his finger at Daichi and Suga. Iwaizumi laughed from within the car.

"I don't really care." Iwaizumi laughed.

"Don't worry, as soon as I turn around and walk away I'm going to bleach my eyes." Suga joked.

"You didn't even see anything!!!" Oikawa frowned. 

"I saw more than enough." Suga shrugged. "Daichi, let's go. Noya is probably eating your lunch." The boys started to walk away from the car.

"Do you not like Oikawa?" Daichi asked, looking at Suga.

"No? I love him, we're pretty good friends." Suga said with a straight face. "He is a bitch though." Daichi laughed.

"Don't tell him I told you this, but we were in fourth grade, he peed his pants like four times throughout the school year." Daichi confided. Suga slapped his hand over his mouth.

"Fourth grade?" Suga laughed. "Wouldn't that make him, like 10 years old?" 

"Yeah... it happened once every few months we just kind of got used to it." Daichi chuckled. 

"Do you have more stories?" Suga turned to Daichi and tugged on the sleeve of his t-shirt. "I _NEED_ to know."

"Oh, I have plenty of them... Asahi does too." 

"I need to hear all of them. Every last story." Suga finally released Daichi's sleeve and Daichi smiled. They walked back to the lunchroom, Suga keeping a few paces in front of Daichi, eager to hear more embarrassing stories.

"Oikawa?" Asahi asked as Suga interrogated him from across the table. "Oh yeah. One time Iwaizumi pulled his chair out from underneath him in fifth grade, and he fell onto the floor and then he cried. He even went to the nurse, and when he came back, he carried an ice pack on his ass for the rest of the day." Sugawara was squealing with laughter.

"Oikawa wasn't the only crybaby though." Daichi chimed in. "Asahi used to cry in science class when we talked about endangered and extinct species." Asahi's mouth gaped open at the comment. The rest of the table collective shared an "awww."

"That's okay, buddy." Noya said from next to Asahi. 

"Daichi used to call our teacher mom by accident all the time. At least once a week!" Asahi blurted. Daichi kicked him under the table. "Ouch! What the heck!" 

"Not cool, Asahi." Daichi frowned. Suga was pounding the table with his fist.

"Please stop, I can't take it." Suga stopped laughing for a second, gasping for air. The bell rang and the boys got up from the table, but Suga stayed with his head draped over the table. Daichi threw his trash away, and went back to the table where Suga's shoulders were shaking with laughter.

"Are you going to come to Sign Language or are you just going to sit here and laugh at me?" Daichi asked, his hands on his hips. 

"Coming Mom... oops... I mean Daichi." Suga turned back around and grinned at Daichi who glared down at him.

\-----

Daichi's phone buzzed on the table in front of him. There were twenty minutes left in the school day, and the time was slowly passing. He eagerly slid it open to answer the text.

**From: Sugawara**

_**hey mom** _

Daichi sighed.

**From: Sugawara**

_**oh come on don't leave me on read** _

**To: Sugawara**

_**What's up, son?** _

Daichi chuckled as he sent then text.

**From: Sugawara**

_**damn. you're much more of a dad than a mom.** _

Daichi frowned. Time to add Suga to the ever growing list of people that called Daichi dad on a regular basis.

**To: Sugawara**

_**Did you need something, or did you just text me to make fun of** _ **me?**

_Ouch. That was kind of mean, Daichi._ He bit his lip as he waited for a response.

**From: Sugawara**

_**yes, actually. can you come play for me in the practice rooms right now?** _

**To: Sugawara**

_**Right now?** _

**From: Sugawara**

**right now.**

Daichi looked at the time and immediately stood up from the table. After getting clearance from the teacher he aided for, he zipped out into the hallway. He walked briskly to the auditorium, where Suga was waiting for him outside of the doors. He waved awkwardly at Suga who smiled.

"That was fast." Suga noted.

"I'm a very reliable person, Suga. Haven't you noticed?" Daichi smirked. 

"Oh and humble to boot." Suga pushed open the auditorium doors and Daichi was hit with a rush of nostalgia. The organized chaos of the rehearsal was reminiscent of his time in the program last year. As they walked down the aisle, Sugawara called out to one of the freshmen.

"Yams!" He snapped his fingers as a boy sitting in the seats looked up at him. He was sitting with another freshman that Daichi recognized from the marching band, as the freshman was almost a whole head taller than he was. "If anyone asks, I'm in the practice rooms."

"Gotcha!" Yamaguchi smiled sweetly at Suga and gave him two thumbs up. They continued the journey back to the practice rooms, weaving through the cast and crew as they all went about their business.

"Yams is going to be Flounder." Suga explained to Daichi. "I'm a little worried about him so far, Flounder's song is pretty hard, but I'm sure he'll get the hang of it... he still has a few months. He's a hard worker." Suga crossed in front of Daichi, and Daichi smiled. Suga cared a lot about the people around him. He had interesting ways of showing it, but deep down, he really cared.

Suga opened the door to the practice room, ushering Daichi inside. His sheet music was already spread out around the piano and music stand. Suga slid into the piano bench as Daichi awkwardly hovered behind him. Suga turned around to look at Daichi, and he patted the bench next to him. Daichi sat down next to Suga, making sure to not take up too much space, but it was a relatively small bench. The side of his thigh grazed the Sugawara's. Suga didn't seem to mind it though. He leaned forward to point at the sheet music. 

"This bit, right here, I can't get it. I know if I can play it, that I can sing it, but right now I can't do either." Suga stuck his bottom lip out. Daichi squinted at the music. He had been out of lessons for years, but not out of practice. His mother played piano in the house, and constantly made Daichi play duets with her. He plucked out the melody on the keys, and Suga's face lit up. 

"That's it!!" He exclaimed. "Do it again!" Daichi obliged, and repeated the melody, and Suga hummed it back. "Teach me, please." He turned to Daichi and stared him down, his eyes glowing with excitement. Daichi blinked back at him.

"Okay..." Daichi gently grabbed Suga's hand and placed the fingers on the keys. Suga watched Daichi's furrowed brow as he tried to get Suga's hand to stay in the right position. "How can you do all the signs in sign language but you can't keep your fingers on the right keys?" Daichi laughed.

"How can you sight read piano music with ease but you can't even spell your name in sign language?" Suga shot back with a grin.

"Hey. I've gotten a lot better." Daichi smiled.

"Thanks to me! So it's time to return the favor." Suga finally got his fingers stretched out to the right keys, and Daichi instructed him slowly in order to play the melody. After a few misplays, Suga finally played the melody correctly, and he hopped up off of the bench. "Daichi!" 

"Suga!"

"I've been trying to play that for days!" He wrapped his arms around Daichi from behind him. Daichi's cheeks grew hot and his eyes grew wide. "Thank you!" 

"You're welcome." Daichi gulped. "I've been practicing with the sheet music you gave me... I can play along if you want to sing." Suga's eyes lit up again.

"Yes! Yes please!" Suga scurried behind the music stand as Daichi began to play. Daichi was nervous, he had never heard Suga sing before. He took a breath and began to sing, and Daichi almost forgot to keep playing the piano. His voice was so sweet and pure in tone, it made Daichi's heart soar. It was beautiful. He continued to sing, and Daichi played along, until the final school bell rang. Daichi was furious at that bell... he could have sat in that practice room for hours. 

  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I like this chapter a lot I hope you do too


	11. Leveling the Playing Field

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Daichi crossed his arms proudly.
> 
> "Not to brag Suga, but my student section is going to put yours to shame." 
> 
> Sugawara rolled his eyes.
> 
> "I won't hold my breath."

About three and a half weeks had passed since Suga's bike had been stolen, and he had been picking up odd jobs here and there since then to raise money to buy a new one. He didn't have enough time to get a job, what with volleyball, being section leader, and being in the musical, but he had been mowing neighbor's lawns, and tutoring when he had the chance, and doing anything he could to earn a couple extra dollars. He wasn't feeling particularly rushed in earning enough money though. The day his bike was stolen, Daichi walked him to the door of his house after he and Asahi dropped him off.

"Asahi and I can take you to school... it's really no big deal." He smiled sweetly at Suga, who was too tired to meet his gaze. His eyes were swollen from crying so much, and his head pounded from the events of the day. "Asahi's moms still give him gas money, and he told me that he doesn't mind taking you to and from, it's on our way... it will be no problem." Daichi hesitantly placed his hand on Suga's shoulder and gently squeezed it. 

"Thank you, Daichi. Tell Asahi I said thank you too." Suga didn't say goodbye as he slipped into the front door. 

Knowing that he had a reliable mode of transportation to school took a large weight off of Suga's shoulders, but that didn't mean there weren't a hundred other things weighing him down on a daily basis. The first volleyball game was quickly approaching, that week's football game was an away game, so he had to organize a way to get to and from it, and his school work was starting to catch up with him. Scrimmages and practice matches were occurring more frequently, and rehearsals were starting to run later and later.

"Suga, are you okay?" Hinata asked as the boys tied their shoes in the gymnasium before their practice. Suga yawned.

"I am absolutely peachy, bud." He flashed a weak smile and Hinata scowled.

"No offense, but you look really tired." Hinata blurted. Suga rolled his eyes with a chuckle.

"You always know exactly what to say."

"Sorry. I don't want you to get sick or miss a game or a show or anything." 

"I'll be fine, Hinata. You don't need to worry about me." Suga grinned as Hinata hopped out onto the court. He knew he didn't need Hinata to worry about him... someone else was in charge of that job.

* * *

Daichi turned eagerly to Suga as he sat down at the lunch table. Suga was slightly alarmed by his energy, but welcomed the excitement.

"You have your first volleyball game tonight?" Daichi asked.

"Yessir. 7 o'clock sharp." Suga took a bite out of his apple. "Oikawa said that not many people usually come to the games. Just parents most times." Daichi cocked an eyebrow at the news.

"Doesn't the student section come?" 

"Well, they haven't in the past, and it's kind of hard for me to organize the section when I'm far too busy being a benchwarmer." Suga smirked. "Seriously though, I just don't have time." Daichi's eyes grew wide with a new idea.

"Well..." He looked around at his friends. Tanaka and Noya were mixing all of the food on their plates into one glob, Bokuto was stacking his pizza crusts into some sort of tower, and Asahi was reading a book. Daichi sighed. "We can make a student section for you. Right guys?" The boys looked up. 

"Sure!" Noya said, flicking a small dab of mashed potatoes onto Tanaka's face. "I never pass up an opportunity to get some cheer practice in!!"

"We don't have practice tonight, so I don't see why not." Asahi smiled gently. 

"Then it's settled!" Daichi crossed his arms proudly. "Not to brag Suga, but my student section is going to put yours to shame." Sugawara rolled his eyes.

"I won't hold my breath." Suga looked down at his lunch tray, a warm feeling filling his stomach. "But I'm exciting to see you try." That was it. With that sentence, he issued a challenge and Daichi never backed down from a challenge. Daichi snapped his head to face Bokuto, and he whispered something in his ear. All of a sudden, Bokuto shouted, and was standing on the bench of the lunch table.

"EVERYONE LISTEN UP!" His booming voice carried through the cafeteria, and everyone came to a sudden halt. "There is a varsity volleyball game tonight at seven in the gym! You better come show up to support the crows!" Suga covered his face with his hands in embarrassment. He figured the student body would begin to pelt Bokuto with whatever leftover trash they had in their lunches, but to his surprise, the announcement was actually generally well received. As people passed by the lunch table, Sugawara could overhear their mentions of the game. Two girls passed with their trays in hand.

"Wanna go to the game with me?" The one asked. 

"It sounds like a lot of fun! I used to play volleyball in middle school, and I've never seen a boys game before." They trailed away before Suga could hear the end of their conversation, but he had heard enough, and was practically beaming. Daichi noticed, and he turned to him.

"I can't let you guys play without a student section." He smiled. "It just isn't fair." 

Daichi and Sugawara walked side by side to sign language the way they always did. Daichi stopped every few steps in the hallway to spread the news of the volleyball game. Suga was thoroughly impressed at how seriously Daichi was taking this challenge. From across their circle in sign language, Suga could see the cogs in Daichi's brain turning, but he had a feeling that it wasn't sign language that was moving them. He knew for sure that Daichi wasn't paying attention when the teacher called on him, and he practically leapt out of his seat when she said his name. Suga stifled a giggle as Daichi struggled to answer her question, fumbling through whatever signs she was asking for. 

Since they had a game, Suga didn't need a ride home, so the boys parted ways after their 7th period.

"I'll see you at the game, Suga." Daichi smirked. "Better be ready... We're going to blow your mind." Daichi trailed off down the hallway, leaving Suga at the auditorium doors for a moment. Suga smiled to himself and then turned in the doors to rehearsal.

* * *

Hinata was practically bouncing off of the walls... more than usual... in the locker room before the game. He had two hours before they were going to be out on the court, but he was already in his uniform, shoes already tied, as he eagerly bounced around the room. He bobbed and weaved throughout the rest of the team, stopping to speak to his teammates. Suga watched as he excitedly approached Kageyama, ready to tell him something, when Kageyama turned around sharply and snapped at him. Hinata stopped in his tracks and slunk away from Kageyama. He plopped down on the bench next to Sugawara who had watched the whole scene unfold. He sat in silence for a moment. Finally Suga nudged his arm.

"What's up, Hinata? You sure are excited to play today." Suga smiled at Hinata who looked up at him.

"I'm always excited to play." He said flatly, picking his feet up onto the bench and tucking his knees into his chest. Sugawara sighed.

"Why were you so excited today?" He asked gently.

"My cousin is coming to the game. I haven't seen him in a while, and I think he's bringing his friend." 

"That's really nice, Hinata, I can't wait to meet him." 

"He's really cool. He plays volleyball too." Hinata's disposition had begun to shift back to his normal more cheery self as the two chatted. About twenty minutes had passed when a man entered the locker room. His long bleach blonde hair was slicked back with a tight elastic hair band, and he wore a black sweat suit. Under his left arm he held a clipboard.

"Hey, coach." Suga waved as he entered the room. Coach Ukai waved back to him before taking a seat on the bench. He scooted closer to Sugawara.

"Once I get a feel for the team tonight, I'm probably going to put you into the rotation to switch with Oikawa, not Kageyama, okay?' Suga's eyes grew wide. He was not expecting to play today. He gulped.

"Ummm... is there any reason why?" Suga scratched the back of his head.

"If I'm bein' honest... he's got a bad attitude. I don't want to reward him for that. He's a talented kid, scary talented, but he's not gonna get anywhere with that attitude." Suga looked across the room to Kageyama, who looked to be teasing Hinata by holding something above his head so he couldn't reach it, and pulling it away every time Hinata tried to jump to reach it. Ukai sighed and shook his head. "If we feel confident about the state of the game, he will be riding the bench, and you will swap out with Oikawa." Before Sugawara could say anything else, Coach Ukai got up and exited the locker room. Suga weaved his fingers together and he tilted his head back to look at the ceiling. His leg started to shake. In the realm of the setters on the team, Suga had gotten used to being bottom tier. Even now, when he had a chance to play, it wasn't because he was incredibly gifted like Kageyama, or experienced and skilled like Oikawa, but rather because he was reliable and he had a good attitude. He let out a big sigh. Now he knew how Daichi felt.

As the team warmed up on the court, Suga watched as Ukai directed more receives toward him, letting him warm up his sets. His sets were fine, technically proficient, and accurate, but they weren't anything to write home about. Suga set across the court for an outside spiker, who laughed at the sloppiness of the move.

"Sorry, Kai. I'll toss it higher next time." Suga rubbed the back of his head. Oikawa and Kageyama never would have made a silly mistake like that.

"No big deal, Suga. You'll get 'em next time." The hitter crouched and crossed under the net to retrieve the ball that had rolled away. Suga shook out his hands before setting to the next hitter in line. This hitter was much taller than the last one, and he approached the net clumsily, running straight down the center of the court. He awkwardly slapped the ball, and although it made it over the net, it wasn't as clean as it could have been.

"Okay, that was a good set. That one was not my fault, Lev." Suga snapped at the tall grey haired player. 

"You're right!" Lev called to Suga. "I'm getting closer though!" Hinata scurried up beside Lev and held his hands up to him for a high five. 

"Lev! You hit it this time!" He had a big cheesy smile across his face. Lev returned the high five and then gave him a thumbs up.

"I've been workin' hard, Hinata!" Lev and Hinata jogged off to practice hitting against the wall. At this point, the other team had arrived, and was warming up alongside Karasuno's team. Suga scoped out the other team... they didn't look to be anything too special. He felt as if it might start to look like he was staring, but right before he could pry away his eyes, he felt an elbow nudge him in the side. He jolted forward, and then turned to see who the perpetrator was. Standing next to him was one of his teammates, who stood about a whole head shorter than Suga, and wore an orange uniform that contrasted the black ones that the rest of the team wore.

"You ready to play today?" The shorter boy asked.

"I was... but you have bony elbows, I think I'm internally bleeding now." Suga frowned and rubbed his side.

"Oh, boo. You'll be fine." The boy bent over and straightened his knee pads.

"Yaku." Suga said flatly. Yaku looked up at Suga and cocked his eyebrow. "Do you think Daichi will pull through and actually get a student section for us today?" Suga watched the doorway as parents had begun to trickle into the gymnasium. 

"I don't know. He's a pretty persuasive guy... I heard a bunch of people talking about the game. Maybe not a huge section, but at least a handful of people." As soon as Yaku finished his sentence, a commotion arose in the lobby. All of a sudden, a rush of students flooded into the gym, stampeding into the bleachers. Suga and Yaku watched side by side as their classmates hastily entered the gym, all of them decked out in black and orange Karasuno spirit wear. At the back of the pack, the group Suga was waiting for finally appeared.

Daichi, Asahi, Tanaka, Noya, and Bokuto, came storming into the gym. Daichi had orange and black paint under his eyes. Suga watched as he eagerly scanned the gym from the doorway, until his eyes finally landed upon Sugawara. He waved at him, and then motioned to the bleachers, almost as if he was saying: "Look! I did it!"

Daichi crossed the court on the sidelines, and Suga watched as he made his way to the front of the student section. As it got closer and closer to the start of the game, Daichi started to rile up the student section. They were cheering for the team, and the game hadn't even started yet.

"Yeah, I think Daichi is going to pull through." Yaku joked to Suga as they sat on the bench just moments before the game started.

"I guess he did." Suga's face flushed with color suddenly, and he glued his eyes to the floor. _Suga... you are a loser._ He sighed before coach Ukai approached the team, readying them for the first set. 

And Ukai was right in assuming the other team wouldn't be much of a challenge. Only a few points into the set, it was already looking like Karasuno was going to take the game in straight sets. That security did not keep Kageyama from being his normal aggressive self, snapping at Hinata, and Lev, and just brooding all around. Only a few points into the match, Ukai called for a substitution, shifting out Kageyama, and sending Sugawara out onto the court.

"Look!" Daichi grabbed Asahi's arm. He pointed across the cart where Suga was standing to replace Kageyama. "Suga's gonna play! He said he usually didn't play." Asahi smiled.

"Well you better get to cheering." Asahi told him. Daichi took that as his cue, and he began to cheer, the student section following suit. Suga looked up at the section and smiled. Daichi was right... having a loud and cheerful student section does make playing easier.

The game was a rather short one, as the other team wasn't really much of a match for the high energy and offense heavy Crows. Sugawara continued playing, switching out with Oikawa every few rotations. Even though the student section was halfway across the gym, Suga could still hear his friend's voices clearly. It was expected of them to hear Noya, Tanaka and Bokuto, as their speaking voices were nothing less of a shout on any given day... but Suga could hear Daichi yelling for the team. _And for him._ Suga didn't think that Daichi had ever yelled a day in his life, and if he concentrated hard enough, he could even hear the gentle cheers coming from Asahi. He smiled.

The game ended swiftly, with Oikawa setting a pinpoint set into Hinata's hand, and the ball smashing down at the speed of light on the other side of the net. The student section roared with cheers. Suga ran to Oikawa and wrapped him in a hug, quickly joined by the skinny arms of Hinata. Suga let Hinata squeeze in between the two setters, he gave Hinata a tighter hug. Hinata hugged him back but quickly began to squirm as two boys left the stands and approached them. A taller boy with unruly black hair, and a shorter boy with two toned blonde and black hair walked up to the group hug. The shorter one seemed rather overwhelmed with all of the chaos and commotion that was ensuing after the game.

"Hinata!" The taller boy called out, but Hinata ignored his call.

"Kenma!" Hinata exclaimed, running over to the shorter of the two boys. Kenma's face softened momentarily upon the sigh of Hinata.

"Hi Shoyo." He said softly. The taller boy frowned.

"Hi Kuroo." Hinata finally said acknowledging him. Sugawara approached the conversation. "Suga! This is my cousin Kuroo, and his friend Kenma!" Suga waved awkwardly at the two boys who reacted the same way. Hinata eagerly began to speak to the three of them, but out of the corner of his eye, Suga saw Asahi and Daichi motioning to him.

"It was really nice to meet you guys, but I have to go talk to some friends!" Suga waved and walked away, eager to meet up with Daichi and Asahi.

"Suga!" Asahi smiled as his friend approached him. "You said you were a benchwarmer! You did such a good job!" Asahi's kindness radiated out from him as the warmest smile spread across his face.

"I was supposed to be a benchwarmer, but Kageyama has a bad attitude, so they put me in." Suga chuckled and Daichi scoffed.

"I'm guessing your coach doesn't know that you've quite the attitude yourself?" Daichi joked.

"I will not hesitate to kill you, Daichi." Suga said, his face emotionless. He couldn't keep the act for long though, and he quickly dissolved into laughter, the other two seniors joining him. "You're right. I'm a bitch."

The three boys chatted as the number of people in the gym dwindled. Eventually, only the three of them remained.

"Volleyball seems like a lot more fun than football." Daichi commented. "A lot less angry."

"You would be good at it. Both of you, actually." Suga commented as he crossed the court to a cart of volleyballs. He grabbed one and brought it over to them. Asahi cocked an eyebrow.

"I'm not sure," Asahi muttered, concerned at the sight of the volleyball. "I'm not sure if I'm nimble enough."

"Oh, nonsense." Suga laughed. "I can teach you, and I bet you're both naturals." Suga set the ball down on the ground and bent his knees. "You want to bend your knees and absorb the impact of the ball. You don't swing your arms to return it, but rather extend your legs and hips." At this point, Daichi and Asahi had begun to mimic the form that Suga was demonstrating to them. Suga clasped his hands together, exposing his forearms. "You want to make contact on your forearm, rather than the side, because there's more surface area for the ball to hit." Suga watched as Daichi internalized every last word he was saying. "You ready to try?"

Daichi nervously nodded and Suga tossed the ball to him. He perfectly executed a pass back to Suga, who caught the ball and scoffed. 

"God, Daichi. Do you have to be good at everything?" Suga rolled his eyes.

"It's really annoying, isn't it?" Asahi laughed.

"Hey! Shouldn't you be happy for me?" Daichi crossed his arms. "You're not a very good teacher."

"I beg to differ, because that pass was solid." Suga snapped. "Asahi, your turn." Asahi's receive wasn't as stable as Daichi's, but it did show promise. "See, I am the best volleyball teacher." Daichi laughed.

"I'm glad we came today. We had fun." The mood suddenly shifted as Daichi smiled at Suga. Asahi awkwardly backed away from the situation.

"I'll go get the car, Daichi. Suga, do you need a ride?" Asahi said, in an attempt to exit the conversation.

"Yes. Please and thank you." Asahi nodded as he swiftly left the gym.

"Thanks for the student section." Suga said, brushing his foot back and forth on the floor.

"It was no big deal..." Daichi smiled. "All of the sports and activities should be supported equally. It wasn't fair that you guys hadn't had this support before now."

They stood in silence for a few seconds.

"Daichi. How are you such a good person?" Suga asked. At first, Daichi thought he was joking, or making fun of him, but as he scanned Suga's face, he could tell that he was being serious.

"I don't know...." Daichi had no clue how to answer that question. Daichi was taken aback by Suga's sudden shift in mood. He couldn't help but feel that Suga was desperate for an answer that Daichi couldn't give him. Daichi wasn't perfect, but a lot of people treated him like he was, so he understood it.

"Sorry, forget it." Suga asked, picking up his volleyball bag and slinging it over his shoulder. Daichi stared at Suga's face, which was suddenly ridden with a sorrowful expression "It was a weird question to ask anyway."

Daichi watched as Suga walked ahead of him out of the door. He felt a knot growing and tangling in his stomach... a knot that he couldn't begin to understand. Why did he want to wrap his arms around Suga? He wanted to let him know that he was a good person too, and that if he thought for a second that he wasn't then he was dead wrong. _Daichi, just tell him that he's a good person. There must be a reason he brought it up... he could probably use a pick-me-up right now._ Suga still walked in front of Daichi, who was struggling to keep ip with him. Daichi opened his mouth but no words came out. 

The car ride to Suga's house was close to silent, a quiet pop song playing on the radio, barely filling the void of the car. They pulled into the driveway, and Suga took a deep breath. 

"Thank you guys. See you at school." He climbed out of the car and Daichi and Asahi waved at him as he walked to the front door. They made sure he got inside before pulling out of the driveway. Daichi bit the inside of his cheek as Suga's house grew further and further away, eventually fading from view completely. _You should have told him, Daichi. You should have told him..._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> kind of a strange chapter. we won't get into the specifics on all the characters going to the same school except for Kenma and Kuroo.... it's fine.
> 
> also.... next chapter..... homecoming AHHHHH
> 
> okay homecoming chapter is going to be monstrous I will have it out ASAP love you thank you so much for reading it means the world to me
> 
> also yes Asahi has two moms that is why he is so loving and gentle and has such good hair 
> 
> thank you Erica for proofreading love you :*


	12. Homecoming Week

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The trials and tribulations of homecoming spirit week.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> sorry this one took so long, but as you can understand, she's a little long

**MONDAY OF** **HOMECOMING SPIRIT WEEK:** Pajama Day

Daichi loved spirit week, he really did, he had since he was in elementary school. But the one thing he could not get behind was pajama day. He tried, but consistently failed to fully participate. Something didn't sit right with him about it, being able to roll out of bed and then go straight to school? That didn't mean he didn't participate at all... he wouldn't want people to think he did have school spirit. He usually just opted for a sweatshirt and sweatpants, and senior year was no exception to that rule. His outfit for his last pajama spirit day consisted of a grey pair of sweatpants, and a black crewneck, with the Karasuno mascot on it. Asahi on the other hand, loved pajama day. Daichi climbed in the car, and sat next to Asahi, who wore a red and black checkered flannel onesie. He had slippers on his feet and a black hairband holding his long hair out of his face.

"You really went all out this year, huh?" Daichi laughed at his best friend.

"What!?" Asahi grinned. "I'm a sucker for jammies!" 

Noya was on a similar page to Asahi, as he exited his building, in a onesie that made him look like a dinosaur. He climbed into the car with a screech.

"Asahi!" He cried out. "You look like a lumberjack. I LOVE IT!" 

"I was going for Christmas card, but lumberjack works too, I guess." Noya bounced up and down in the back seat like a child. Daichi and Asahi listened to him ramble on about his excitement for the week to come. Daichi got excited as they turned onto Suga's street. After about a month of taking Suga to school, it was honestly the highlight of their mornings, adding that unpredictable factor into their routine. Of course there were a few bad days littered in, none as bad as the day he lost his bike, but still some bad days mixed in with the good. They pulled into the driveway, and Suga sat on the stairs waiting for them, as he did most mornings. When he stood up, his oversized t-shirt billowed down, and the hem of it landed around the middle of his thighs. Daichi's eyes grew wide.

"YOOOO!" Noya called out the back window. "Suga's not wearing any pants!" Suga flipped off the car and picked up the hem of his shirt, flashing the everyone in it the running shorts he was wearing that were just short enough to not show underneath the t-shirt. He held his shirt up high enough that they also got a pretty good glance at his thin, toned stomach.

"AYOOO! Suga's ripped!" Noya shouted as Suga climbed into the car, a smug smile on his face. Daichi felt heat rushing to his cheeks. _Literally stop, Daichi. Stop._

"You really think I would go to school without pants on?" Suga asked as he shut the door. The car was silent for a moment, pondering the question. Then in unison, all four boys said: "Yeah." Sugawara burst into laughter and the rest of the boys followed suit.

The school was one big pajama party, with practically all of the students participating in the first day of spirit week. Tanaka bounded through the halls, wearing Superman pajama pants. Bokuto wore a onesie that looked like a teddy bear. And honestly, as the day went on, Daichi found himself growing fonder and fonder of pajama day. His busy schedule was starting to catch up with him, and practices leading up to the Homecoming game were getting tough, so feeling like he could fall asleep at any given moment throughout the day was rather comforting. 

Oikawa traipsed up to their lunch table, wearing a matching pajama set. He had a big smile on his face. He slid onto the table, taking a seat right next to Asahi's lunchbox. Asahi scooted his lunch away from Oikawa. 

"Remember boys... Vote for me and Iwa for Homecoming kings." He instructed all the members of the table." Noya chimed up from the other side of the bench.

"I don't know Oikawa... not only are you two nominated, but so are Bokuto, Daichi, AND Suga. It's a stacked ballot. I haven't made my mind up who I'm voting for yet." Noya explained.

"And no offense, Oikawa, but Kiyoko is on the ballot for queen. So I have to vote for her." Tanaka interjected. Oikawa gasped mockingly. 

"You guys are bad friends." 

"I'm voting for myself." Sugawara said confidently. The boys all chuckled, and Oikawa flicked Suga in the forehead. "Ouch what the hell? I'm just being honest. And if I wasn't on the ballot I would vote for Daichi. But definitely not you." Suga teased. Daichi smiled at that statement, a small amount of color rushing to his cheeks.

"Whatever. I don't need your vote anyway." Oikawa stuck his tongue out at Suga who promptly flipped him off in response.

"Oikawa, I just don't want you to get your hopes up? I know that you and Iwaizumi will probably get the most votes, but I'm not sure if the school will be okay with two kings." Daichi said, as gently as possible.

"Well, then I'll just drop out of high school." Oikawa said with a straight face. "I'm kidding. I know that's a possibility, but the two winners should be the two with the most votes, and that is going to be me and Iwa. So it doesn't matter." As he said it, he slid off of the table and left the cafeteria, heading to his car. Daichi and Suga exchanged a worried glance.

"I have a feeling he's going to be in for a rude awakening at the dance." Daichi said flatly.

"Well, you never know, maybe the school will be cool about it?" Asahi chimed in.

"I guess we'll just have to wait and see." 

**TUESDAY OF HOMECOMING SPIRIT WEEK:** Nerd VS Jock Day

Suga looked himself up and down in the mirror. He had what he needed to dress up like a nerd.... he had what he needed to dress up like a jock... he just couldn't decide between the two. After much deliberation, he decided to go for a nerdy look. He shimmied into a tight pair of plaid pants, making sure to check himself out in the mirror as he buttoned them up. He buttoned up a white shirt, and put a few pens in the breast pocket. He squirted a handful of hair gel out of a bottle, and slicked his hair down the middle, in a clean even part. He then found a pair of old 3D glasses from the movie theater. He popped out the lenses and slipped them onto his face. Suga glanced at himself in the mirror and he gave himself a quick finger guns before heading out of the house. 

Suga entered a car that was full of so-called jocks. Asahi and Daichi wore their varsity jackets, and Noya wore his cheerleading warm-ups. Asahi's eyes grew wide when he saw the extent Sugawara went to with his nerd costume.

"Wow, Suga you look great." He complimented Suga as he buckled his seatbelt in the backseat. Suga thanked him, and then leaned over the center console.

"I really like your nerd costume too, Daichi." He smirked, and Daichi whipped his head around to face him.

"I am not dressed like a nerd! Look at my varsity jacket! I have letters for basketball, track, and football!" He cried out, in an attempt to defend himself.

"You ran track?" Suga asked, genuinely surprised. "Meh, it doesn't matter. Daichi, you will always be a nerd to me." Daichi frowned and Suga scooted back into his seat.

"Ha! He's right you are a big nerd, Daichi!" Noya exclaimed from the backseat.

"Nishinoya, I do not have the patience to deal with you this morning." Daichi growled without even looking back at him.

"Oh sorry......" Noya apologized. "..... _nerd_." Nishinoya and Sugawara stifled their giggles from the backseat as they could practically see the frustration in Daichi growing.

In his photography class, Oikawa approached Sugawara. He wore his volleyball uniform top, with a pair of skinny jeans. He crouched down next to Suga, in an attempt to see what he was doing on his laptop, but ultimately was ignored by Suga.

"What are you editing?" Oikawa asked.

"A photo. We are in photography class." Suga said without peeling his eyes from the computer screen. "You should try paying attention sometimes." 

"Ouch. Harsh." Oikawa pretended to gasp. "I'm done with my assignments. I figured you were too." 

"No. I'm a little behind. I've been busy." Oikawa watched as Suga shifted the computer mouse on the mousepad, his eyes glued to the screen.

"Are you going to the dance on Saturday?" Oikawa asked after a few seconds. Suga sighed and lifted his hands from the keyboard.

"Probably. Yes... I don't know." Suga said, finally turning to look at his friend.

"That was a really shitty answer. Are you going or not? You don't really have that much time to decide." 

"Ugh Jesus, Oikawa I don't know!" Suga went to run his fingers through his hair, forgetting that it was slicked down with gel. He groaned and attempted to smooth his hairstyle back down. "I don't have anything to wear or anyone to go with."

"Well, I can help you with one of those things, but I'm obviously going with Iwa." Oikawa smirked. "Why don't you go with Daichi?" As the words left Oikawa's mouth, Sugawara's eyes grew wide. _Why did he just say that?_

"What--Why would I-?" Suga stuttered.

"Isn't Daichi going with all of his buddies? Just go with them." Oikawa smirked. That's not what he meant when he said it the first time... he just wanted to see how Suga would react. He reacted about the same way he would have guessed he would. "Just ask if you can go with them. See, Asahi is right over there. Asahi!" Oikawa grabbed Suga's hand and dragged him across the room, over to Asahi, whose head had perked up.

"Hey guys... is everything okay?" He looked at the two boys with a nervous expression.

"Everything is fine. Suga isn't going to go to homecoming because he's lame and doesn't have any friends, or a group to go with." Oikawa said with a smile. Sugawara slapped his arm.

"Why don't you come with us Suga?" Asahi asked, with a gentle smile. "It's no problem, you're our friend Suga." Suga felt his heart melt a little bit at Asahi's kindness.

"There you go, Nerd Boy. Found you a group of friends, and I'll help you get your outfit together before Saturday. Do you need me to wipe your ass for you too?" Oikawa jabbed his fingers into Suga's side. Suga winced and kicked his foot in response.

"You wish." 

**WEDNESDAY OF HOMECOMING SPIRIT WEEK:** Twin Day

Daichi looked at his outfit, laid out on his desk. If there was one day of Spirit Week that he and Asahi took seriously, it was Twin Day, and they had photographic evidence to prove it. When they were in elementary school, before Daichi got his first growth spurt, the boys could have passed for twins. Eventually Daichi passed Asahi in height, and it took Asahi a year or two to catch up, and once he caught up, he didn't stop growing. Without a doubt, every year they would wear identical outfits, almost as a sort of testament to their friendship. Daichi's gaze was ripped from his planned outfit as something else caught his eye. On the corner of his desk, his freshly washed practice jersey was folded neatly. They wore the jerseys for away games, and practices, but most of the boys on the team gave the jerseys to their girlfriends to wear. Daichi felt a knot growing in the pit of his stomach. He clenched his fist and then forced himself to stop staring at the jersey. For their last twin day, he and Asahi decided on simple and sweet. They picked out the same Hawaiian shirt from the store, and matched a pair of khaki shorts with it. It was hard to tell if they were preparing for Twin Day, or Tacky Tourist Day. Before he left his room, he stopped next to his desk, and grabbed his practice jersey. He shoved the fistful of fabric into his backpack.

Upon their arrival to Noya's house, they were presented with a special guest for the car ride. Two figures, presumably Nishinoya and Tanaka approached the car. They wore bright orange spandex suits that covered them from head to toe. Literally. They could not see their faces. The only thing besides the orange suits that the boys were were black shorts on top, and shoes. The shorter figure came up to the driver's side window. Asahi opened it a crack. There was no doubt that the boys were Noya and Tanaka once they started talking.

"ASAHI! DAICHI!" Noya screeched. "MORPH SUIT!" Tanaka hopped beside Noya.

"MORPH SUIT!!" Tanaka shouted.

"Get in the car we're going to be late." Daichi barked at them. They scrambled into the backseat, on Daichi's orders. At their next stop, they picked up Sugawara, who was wearing cut off denim shorts, and a large striped t-shirt. A very large striped t-shirt. He climbed in the back seat next to Noya.

"Suga! I could fit in that shirt with you!" Noya said, as he unbuckled his seatbelt, presumably in an attempt to test that theory. Suga flicked him on the forehead and he sat back down and clicked his seat belt back into place.

"I'm twinning with Hinata, but they didn't have a shirt his size, so we both got big ones." Sugawara explained.

"I'm sure Hinata is swimming in his shirt. Can't wait to see." Asahi laughed from the front seat. He was right about that assumption. Hinata scurried up to the lunch table, as he did every few days. His shirt was so oversized, it covered his shorts, the same way Suga's pajamas did yesterday.

"Look! Daichi we're twins!!" Hinata cried out as he squirmed between the two of them on the bench. "Can you tell us apart?" He asked, with a cheesy grin on his face. Daichi smiled sweetly at the boy.

"Not at all." He fibbed.

"Wow, Daichi. It's pretty obvious. Suga is like a whole head taller than me, and we look totally different." Hinata said as the rest of the table laughed at them. Daichi chuckled as he unzipped his backpack to get his lunchbox out. When he opened the pocket, he remembered his practice jersey that he had shoved into the bag that morning. His chest grew tight and he quickly zipped his bag back up. For the rest of lunch, and all the way into Sign Language, he thought about that stupid jersey. _Maybe you shouldn't, Daichi. It is kind of weird._ He thought as he tuned out of the lecture. He glanced up across the circle to see Sugawara doodling on his notebook. He smiled to himself. _No, Daichi you should._ He stared at Suga in an attempt to catch his attention. After a few moments, Suga finally looked up and the boys locked eyes. Daichi pantomimed playing a piano, to ask if they were playing in the practice rooms today. Suga flashed his signature smile and gave him a thumbs up. Daichi took a deep breath. _It's no big deal, Daichi._ He felt as though he was telling himself that more and more these days.

They took the same walk to the practice rooms that they did everyday. Luckily enough, Suga had enough to say to carry the conversation for the whole walk there. He was always so lively when he spoke, always bringing his full energy to each and every story. Daichi opened the practice room door for Suga and then followed him inside. Before sitting at the bench like he usually did, he placed his backpack on the ground, and unzipped it. Suga watched him as he pulled out his practice jersey.

"So this might be kind of weird," Daichi started. "But I thought you might want to wear this to the Homecoming game on Friday." Daichi extended his arms out to Suga, who just stared at the jersey. Daichi was starting to get nervous. _Why is he not saying anything? Why is he just standing there?_ "Of course, you don't have to if you don't want to. I get it. If you think it's like weird or something--" Before Daichi could say anymore, Suga snatched the jersey out of his hands and took his shirt off, immediately slipping the jersey. Daichi's eyes were wide from how fast the exchange occurred. Suga looked down at the jersey and then back up at Daichi.

"This is so sick!" He said, with a smile. The smile quickly shifted to a smirk. "Don't the players usually give their jerseys to their girlfriends... or their... Oikawa's?" Suga asked. Daichi stumbled over his words in an attempt to formulate an answer.

"I- just thought you might-- For the student section--" He stuttered.

"Okay, okay, I'll be the best girlfriend you could ever ask for Daichi." Suga winked and Daichi hurriedly sat at the piano bench. Once his back was facing Suga, he felt a huge rush of heat swell in his cheeks. _Well, Daichi, you did it._ He started to play for Suga, hoping that Suga couldn't see how red his ears were.

 **THURSDAY OF HOMECOMING SPIRIT WEEK:** Class Color Day

Suga stood in the doorway of Oikawa's car. Oikawa frowned at the sight of him.

"Face paint? Really?" He asked, as he stared Suga up and down.

"It was class color day!" Suga defended himself. He was wearing bright blue sweatpants, and a matching sweatshirt. He had blue stripes under his eyes and a blue headband pushing his hair back.

"You look tacky. Get in the car." 

Suga had told Asahi and Daichi earlier in the day that he didn't need a ride home. He was headed to the mall with Oikawa to get a last minute homecoming outfit put together. Sugawara insisted that he just wear something from his closet that he already owned, but Oikawa insisted just as strongly that someone on the homecoming court shouldn't look homeless. Oikawa pulled into a parking space in the mall parking lot. He grabbed a package of baby wipes out of the center console and handed them to Suga.

"Please wipe the face paint off. And lose the hair band." Suga reluctantly grabbed a wipe and smeared the paint off.

The two boys walked up and down the mall, peeking in different stores to see if there were any options. Finally, they settled on a normal department store, even though Oikawa recommended that they go somewhere fancier.

"Hey, I'm paying for this, not you." Suga reminded him as they leafed through the racks of dress pants and shirts. Finally Sugawara found a pair of light grey dress pants that almost matched his hair exactly. He opted for a simple white shirt to go along with them, and then matching grey suspenders and grey bowtie. 

"Really? No color at all?" Oikawa crossed his arms after putting back some vibrant articles of clothing he had pulled from the racks for Suga to try.

"I like the simplicity... it's classy." Suga shrugged and Oikawa rolled his eyes.

Suga scurried off to the dressing rooms followed closely by Oikawa. Suga slipped into the pants, and buttoned up the shirt. He looked at himself in the mirror. 

"Not to be conceited, Oikawa, but I look fuckin' hot." He called out through the curtain. He clipped his suspenders on and then exited the dressing room. 

"A likely story." Oikawa said, watching Suga step out in front of him. "Those pants are really tight on your ass. You look like a slut." 

"I think they fit me well." Suga rested his hands on his hips and then swiveled his butt in Oikawa's general direction. "And maybe I want to be a slut this weekend."

"You're a loser." Oikawa laughed as Suga shimmied at Oikawa. 

"This is definitely the outfit though. I don't want to pick anything else out." Suga returned to the dressing room and undressed. Before removing the pants, he took one last look at himself in the mirror. Oikawa was right. They were tight on his ass.... but that didn't mean they looked bad. Suga purchased the clothes with some of the money he had set aside to buy a new bike. He winced when he saw the total price, but he knew that his senior year homecoming was important, and that he needed to go.

The boys made their way to the mall food court and took a seat after getting drinks and pretzels. Oikawa watched cautiously as Suga scarfed down his pretzel. He squinted his eyes and finally Suga noticed that he had been staring.

"What?" He asked, his mouth full of pretzel. "Do I have cheese on my face?" He wiped his lips with the back of his hand.

"No. No cheese on your face." Oikawa frowned. "It's nothing. I don't really remember what I wanted to say." Suga cocked his head. Oikawa wasn't one to act seriously like this.

"Was it about homecoming?" Oikawa looked down at the table. 

"I don't know. I hope the dance goes well. I just have a bad feeling about it, I'm not sure why."

"Probably because I'm gonna beat you in a landslide for Homecoming king." Suga took a long sip of his drink. 

"In your dreams."

 **FRIDAY OF HOMECOMING SPIRIT WEEK:** School Spirit Day

The final day of Homecoming week was closed with a pep rally, to raise the spirits for the game. The students filed into the gym per usual, all of them organizing into their various sections by grade. Bokuto groaned as he sat in the bleachers next to Daichi. The break he had suffered in his arm was a pretty serious one, that went clean through the bone, so there was no way he'd be cleared to play before the season ended. And to say the least, he was not a fan of the lack of attention he was getting as a result of his injury, and subsequent removal from the starting line up.

"Look on the bright side, Bo," Daichi said to his friend, who was seemingly too distressed to even answer. "At least you're still nominated for homecoming king!" Bokuto groaned again.

"They only nominated me because they pity me!!" He wailed as he pressed his forehead into Daichi's shoulder. "And you're nominated too, so you would have beat me at one more thing." Daichi rolled his eyes and softly patted Bokuto's back in an attempt to console him. His attention wasn't on his friend for long though, as something caught his eye from the entrance to the gym. In the doorway, Suga stood wearing his practice jersey. He hadn't worn it earlier in the day, so Daichi figured he wasn't going to wear it at all, but he must have changed since then. Daichi's cheeks grew red and he pried his eyes away from the doorway before Suga could see how flustered he was.

Along with the usually pep building activities that usually took place during pep rallies, today they took part in a series of mini games amongst the classes too. They played tug of war, musical chairs, and even had an obstacle course set up in the gym. Daichi hadn't seen Suga since the pep rally started when all of a sudden he was in the middle of the court. Daichi's eyes grew wide as he realized that Suga was the senior contestant for the obstacle course. And he was wearing Daichi's practice jersey. In front of the whole school. And Daichi was wearing his jersey. Anyone who could see would be able to tell that Suga was sporting the same number as Daichi. At first Daichi started to panic, what would they think? It was just a friendly gesture to help Suga lead the spirit section better, that's all... Daichi's panic ceased as the senior section began to cheer for Suga as he had just finished the obstacle course faster than any other contestant from any other grade. Suga scanned the section to find Daichi. Once they locked eyes, Suga smiled and pointed at his jersey. He then gave Daichi two thumbs up. Daichi smiled and gave him a thumbs up in response. Everything was fine. He made the right decision.

Leading up to the Homecoming game, everyone had reminded Daichi of the importance of the game, and how it was going to be a challenging one, but every time Daichi looked up into the stands and saw Suga wearing his jersey, he couldn't help but feel like everything was going to be okay. When the final buzzer sounded, he didn't even realize that the game had ended, or that they had won for that matter. But nevertheless, he had helped lead the team to yet another victory. 

**SATURDAY OF HOMECOMING WEEK:** The Dance

Daichi wasn't a huge fan of school dances, but after the massive win the night before at the football game, he woke up with a bit of a spring in his step. His mom made him a hefty breakfast as she did most weekends, and she sat with him and his father as they ate at the kitchen table. Daichi scarfed down the waffles and eggs she made him as she watched proudly.

"Dai... why don't you have your friends come over to get ready for the dance?" She asked as she scooped more eggs on his plate. "You know, Asahi, and some of the other boys from the team? It would be fun!" Daichi looked up at her.

"There's not a whole lot of getting ready to do... just getting dressed..." Daichi said flatly, but respectfully. 

"Well you can still take pictures together and then ride together!" She placed her hands on her hips. "It's your senior year, Daichi, you should at least try to enjoy it. You're going with a group, why don't you ask them."

Daichi sighed and pulled his phone out of his pocket. He tapped the screen a few times, making a groupchat.

**To: Asahi, Nishinoya, Tanaka, Bokuto, and Sugawara**

**_My mom said that you guys can get ready over here if you want. That way it can be easier to ride to get food and then to the dance. It's up to you_ _guys though._ **

Daichi sent the message and looked back up at his mother.

"There, I sent it. Happy now?" Daichi sassed. She circled the table behind Daichi and planted a kiss on the top of his head as she gently held his chin.

"Oh, I'm so happy." She quietly hummed as she walked away from her son. Daichi's phone buzzed on the table. He picked it up to read the messages.

**From: Asahi**

_**Sure! I'll be over in a bit.** _

**From: Tanaka**

**_PARTY!!! I am in_ **

**From: Nishinoya**

_**DID SOMEONE SAY PARTY???!!! HELL YEAH :0)** _

**From: Bokuto**

_**Only if Daichi promises not to beat me for Homecoming court.** _

**From: Daichi**

_**I can make no such promises.** _

**From: Sugawara**

_**can anyone give me a ride there?** _

Daichi watched the group chat cautiously as Bokuto and Sugawara organized a ride to his house. He breathed a sigh of relief. He would have been embarrassed had he invited Suga for him to not actually be able to come over. It took awhile for the rabble to arrive at Daichi's house, but after a few hours, they began to arrive. Asahi came through the door first, with Noya and Tanaka nipping at his heels. Daichi's mother cooed with excitement at the sight of the boys. She wrapped her arms around Asahi, greeting her son's best and oldest friend with kindness. She was not one to play favorites though, and she was more than acquainted with the other two boys, so she crossed and hugged them as well. The boys hung their outfits in Daichi's closet, and then came back downstairs to wait for their final two arrivals. Sugawara and Bokuto entered almost twenty minutes after the first three.

"Sorry, I got lost." Bokuto giggled.

"Like four times!" Suga exclaimed. They laughed as the boys made their way further into the living room.

"Hello, Bokuto!" Daichi's mother called out. "It's nice to see you again!" She held her arms out and Bokuto hugged her.

"It's good to see you too!!" Bokuto released his arms from the hug. Suga hovered awkwardly near the doorway.

"Nice to meet you, dear." Daichi's mom called out to Suga. "I'm Su Sawamura. Please just call me Su... or mom. These boys call me mom more than anything." She smiled at Suga who was still trying to process everything that was occurring.

"I'm Sugawara. But I go by Suga." Before he could say anything else, Su had wrapped her arms around him in a hug. For a moment, Daichi considered telling his mom to stop, but when he looked up, he could tell that Sugawara was enjoying the hug, so he let them be. It was finally Sugawara that disengaged the hug, but deep down, he could have stood in that living room for hours. He couldn't help but feel jealous of how kind Daichi's mother seemed, even after only a few minutes of knowing her.

"Well, you boys better go get ready! I wouldn't want you to miss the chance to get dinner!" The boys scrambled upstairs after that, Suga staying close to the back of the pack, being that he had never been to Daichi's house before. They finally reached Daichi's room, which carefully tread the line between plain and boring, and childish. It was very apparent that whatever decorations he did have throughout the room were leftover from childhood. The rest of the room was clean and pristine, everything neatly organized and where it should be. There were still indents of the carpet from being recently vacuumed. Suga laughed to himself at the thought of the contrast of their two rooms. Suga couldn't even see his bedroom floor most days, as it was always covered in clothes, both clean and dirty. Suga's walls were covered with posters and photos, hung haphazardly with tape, whereas the few wall decorations Daichi had were neatly framed and hung with nails. To top it all off, Daichi's bed was made so neatly, it looked as if it was a show bed in a department store. Suga couldn't remember the last time he made his bed...

As Suga was admiring the tidiness of the bed, Noya took off in a sprint, and dive bombed onto the mattress, followed by Daichi who grabbed him by the legs. Then soon after, Tanaka joined the other two, and they began to wrestle. Suga's expression twisted. He had never seen Daichi roughhouse like this... it was a little alarming. Asahi slowly inched away from the action, as Bokuto slowly crept towards it, the only thing keeping him out of it being his hard cast on his arm.

"Boys!" Su called up the stairs. "That sounds like an awful lot of noise for some boys who should be getting ready for Homecoming!!!" Even though everyone in Daichi's bedroom was 17 or 18 years old, they still reacted to Su's statement as if they were children that had been scolded for jumping on the bed when they should have been sleeping. They all then began to put on their various outfits for the dance.

"Check it out guys!" Noya said as he leapt back onto the bed. Rather than taking a traditional approach to Homecoming, Nishinoya wore a pair of shorts and a matching blazer, both of which were covered in brightly colored flowers. "Eh, eh!! Whaddya think?" He said as he did a quick spin.

To absolutely no one's surprise, Tanaka had a similar set, except his was covered in dollar bills. Suga slapped his hand over his mouth, but it didn't stop the laughter from coming out.

"You guys look so stupid!" Suga said.

"There is no chance in hell you're going to get Kiyoko to dance with you if you're wearing that." Daichi said as he buttoned his shirt before tucking it into his pants. Before Suga could continue to tease Noya and Tanaka, he turned to face Bokuto. His eyes grew wide when he saw what he was wearing.

"Are you wearing navy blue.... and black??" Suga asked.

"What's the problem with that?" Daichi asked. Suga and Asahi looked at each other and exploded into laugher.

"Wait, wait, Bo, what color are your shoes?" Asahi asked, as he gripped his stomach from laughing.

"Brown. Why?" He held up a light brown shoe for them all to see. Sugawara and Asahi screeched with laughter as the other boys stared at them in confusion. Daichi scratched the side of his head.

"I didn't think there was anything wrong with that."

Once they had calmed down and finished getting ready, they prepared themselves for the endless amounts of photos Daichi's mother was about to take of them. They stood in Daichi's front yard, their arms slung over each other's shoulders. Suga stood closest to Daichi.

"Your outfit is pretty boring." Suga teased Daichi in a voice he thought was quiet enough for only Daichi to hear. Daichi wore a black button up, black pants, and a very dark grey tie. 

"That's exactly what I told him!" Daichi's mother exclaimed. Suga's cheeks grew red when he realized she heard him teasing her son, but at least she agreed with him. "He's never really been a flashy kid though, so I've just learned to get used to it." She sighed. "But you on the other hand, are so fashionable Suga! I should take you shopping! Daichi doesn't let me pick outfits out for him anymore but I would--"

"Mom, please stop." Daichi interrupted his mother.

"I would love to!" Suga cheered. 

"Okay. That's enough pictures! Let's go." Daichi frowned at his mother.

"Ha! You're just mad that your mom likes me more than you!" Suga stuck his tongue out at Daichi who furrowed his brow. The boys piled into Asahi's Subaru that was parked in Daichi's driveway.

"I had to put the third row of seats up, so sorry to whoever gets stuck back there." Asahi said as he clicked his seatbelt. Nishinoya didn't seem to mind as he eagerly climbed over the middle row of seats into the back one. Earlier in the week, the boys had decided to not go for a formal dinner, but to rather pig out on fast food before the dance. Daichi didn't bother to spare those details to his mother, as she would be mortified if she knew. They parked in the lot at the high school, each of them with their respective bag of McDonald's, before chowing down.

"Tanaka, please try not to get ketchup on my seats again." Asahi requested, his mouth full of French fries.

"Too late." Tanaka smiled innocently, but the ketchup on the seat still remained. 

The boys finished their food, and entered the dance as one big group. Once inside, Daichi was taken aback by how loud the music was. He didn't remember it being this loud... or this vulgar. However, Suga seemed to be right at home as they walked into the sweaty, dark gym. He instantly began to dance, as he loosened his bowtie. Daichi awkwardly watched for a few moments. Suga was a really good dancer. Daichi wasn't bad himself, but this wasn't really the time or place for a shuffle ball change. He didn't really listen to rap music, and after being in the dance for almost a full half an hour, it seemed like that was all the DJ was going to play. After a while, the DJ quieted down, and Daichi perked up, thinking he was about to play a song that wasn't a rap song. Instead, he soon realized that he was actually about to announce who had won homecoming king and queen. Suga ran up besides Daichi as the announcements started. Daichi looked over at him to see that he was no longer wearing his bowtie or his suspenders, and his top couple buttons on his shirt had been undone. He smiled as he looked at the way Suga's hair had been ruffled from dancing so wholeheartedly. _Oh shit. What if I win? Oh shit._ Daichi had totally forgotten that he was even nominated. He clenched his fists together praying that his name wouldn't be called.

"For this year's homecoming king, put your hands together--- for Kotaro Bokuto!" The dance floor erupted into cheers. Daichi's face lit up as he turned to Bokuto, who looked like he was on cloud nine.

"BOOYAH!" Bokuto said as he ran to collect his crown from the DJ.

"And your winner for queen is-- Miss Shimizu Kiyoko!!!" Once again, the dance floor was enveloped in screams. Kiyoko humbly accepted her tiara and made her way to the center of the dance floor. It was rather obvious that she was not too thrilled that she had to dance with Bokuto, but she did anyway. Daichi could sense the rage spewing from Tanaka as they watched the two dance. Daichi felt allowed himself to take a breath of relief.

Suga looked around the dance floor. He finally found Oikawa, but he was on his way out of the gymnasium. Suga chased after him, without saying anything to the rest of the group. Suga lost sight of him for a while, but finally found him at a table in the gym lobby. He looked as if he was either about to cry or had just stopped crying.

"Hey." Suga said. "Can I sit here?" Oikawa didn't answer so Suga sat next to him anyway. "I'm sorry you guys didn't win. If it's any consolation, I voted for you two."

"It's stupid. I don't know why I thought we both had a shot at winning. It's not like we're in a movie or some big city or something. It was stupid of me to think we would both win." He wiped his nose with the back of his hand. Suddenly, Suga got an idea as a new rap song began to play in the gym.

"I have a brilliant idea. Go find Iwaizumi." 

Suga's guess was right. Upon hearing the certain song that was playing, he reentered the gym to find a large circle of students had formed close to the DJ booth. He inched closer to see that the circle was comprised of couples grinding on each other. _Jackpot._ he thought to himself. He ran back out to the lobby, where Oikawa was standing with Iwaizumi, who gently rested his hand on his shoulder.

"No more tears!" Suga said triumphantly. "I have a surprise for you two!" He grabbed each of their hands and pulled them towards the grind circle. "Knock yourselves out!" He pushed them into the circle, and without skipping a beat, Oikawa's entire demeanor changed, and he began to grind his hips on Iwaizumi, who knowingly placed his hand on the small of Oikawa's back. 

Suga stayed on the outskirts of the grind circle for a while, trying to decide if he should join. But after a few songs, he couldn't help himself. He squeezed into the circle, and found a girl from the drama club that he was friends with. He walked up to her and motioned, asking permission to grind on her. It was rather comical, considering the girl was grinding on her own boyfriend, but she obliged nonetheless, and Suga went ham. The other members of the circle noticed and began to cheer. Suga laughed as he crossed the circle to Oikawa and danced with him for a moment.

This far into the dance, Daichi had made his way to the sidelines. He was talking to a chaperone when the commotion in the grind circle started to grow. He started to inch closer, to see what was going on. Once he realized what was occurring, he was petrified. His classmates. That he went to school with. Everyday.... They had no shame. There were girls on their boyfriends, friends on friends, Oikawa... okay that one wasn't a surprise, and.... _Oh my god._ Daichi caught a glimpse of the focal point of the circle. Suga was making his way around the circle, being cheered along as he went. Daichi wasn't trying to scoot closer, but he must have, because before he knew it, he was in the circle as well. Suga continued the rotation around the circle, and Daichi was suddenly stricken with panic. _Shit,_ He thought. _He's going to come over here. What do I do?_ Soon enough, Sugawara was in front of Daichi, moving his hips to the beat of the song. He inched closer and closer until he and Daichi were touching. When they made contact, Suga looked back to see who he was grinding on. He looked up to see Daichi making a very shocked and embarrassed face.

"Oh. Hey Daichi." Suga said with a wink. Daichi figured he would move on from him with that exchange, but he didn't. He stayed with his back facing Daichi, while pressing into him with the beat of the song. Daichi's face was on fire. _I feel awkward. What am I supposed to do with my hands?_ Daichi glanced over at Iwaizumi, whose hand had travelled to Oikawa's hips. _Oh shit. Am I supposed to do that?_ He hesitantly lifted his hands, and gently placed them on Suga's hips. He winced at first, being not entirely sure if that was what he was supposed to do, but Suga didn't even skip a beat. As the song continued, the more and more Daichi started to enjoy what was occurring. _What the fuck, Daichi?_ He tried to come up with a reason for not liking what was happening, but he couldn't. Suga's shirt was fully unbuttoned at this point, exposing his undershirt. Daichi grasped the fabric as the two moved in sync to the song. Right when Daichi was really starting to get into the swing of things, an angry looking chaperone came over to the circle, barking at the students to break it up. Daichi's back straightened and he let go of Suga's shirt, and straightened his own. Suga wiped the sweat off of his forehead and turned back to Daichi and smiled.

"Have you ever done that before?" He asked, fanning himself with his hand. Daichi gulped.

"No."

"Well, you're awfully good at it." Suga winked at him and peeled off to go dance with some friends. Daichi made a sharp b-line for the bathroom. Once inside, he splashed his face with cold water. _What the fuck just happened?_ He stared at himself in the mirror for a few seconds. He looked like a mess. But apparently he was a mess that was good at grinding. He smiled. Daichi was alone in the bathroom for a few moments, when suddenly the door swung open and Asahi was standing with his back pressed against it. The boys locked eyes. Asahi's hair was a mess... is it possible he looked worse than Daichi did?

"What are you doing in here?" Daichi asked with a chuckle.

"I- uh-- was dancing-- with Noya-- Just taking a quick break!" Asahi was eager to change the subject. "Were you in the grind circle?" Asahi asked as he wiped his forehead with a paper towel. Daichi sighed.

"Yeah." He said in a disappointed tone.

"Dude! Don't be like that!" Asahi said, as he grasped Daichi's shoulder. "Everyone does it! It's no big deal that you did too!" Daichi turned to face his best friend. 

"Wait a second, did you do it?" He asked.

"What?" Asahi asked, his eyes wide. Before Daichi could interrogate him more, Nishinoya peeked his head in the doorway.

"Asahi? You coming back? They're playing a really good song!" Noya said.

"Sorry, Dai. Gotta go." He practically bolted out of the bathroom as Daichi's jaw dropped. _What the fuck???_ Daichi turned back to look at himself in the mirror. He frowned for a moment, and then sighed. _Well, I may as well get back out there. If Asahi is doing it.... then damn... I sure can too._ Daichi took a deep breath to regain his composure, and turned to leave the bathroom and rejoin the dance floor. Hopefully Suga was still out there.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> wow okay so that just happened
> 
> uhhhhh anywaysssssss
> 
> hope you liked this monstrous chapter
> 
> thank you so much for reading it means the world to me
> 
> thank you erica for proofreading mwah
> 
> there is a 70% chance that the next chapter will be HALLOWEEN OOOOOHHHHHH spooky


	13. Happy Halloween!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Bokuto's parents are out of town.... Party time!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> a lil filler and a lil fluff
> 
> hope you enjoy all of the boys and their costumes

Daichi was sure that Suga would have mentioned something about homecoming in the days that followed. Maybe not if it had only been that first instance, but after Daichi cleaned himself up in the bathroom, he went back out on the dance floor, and danced with Suga until the dance was practically over. But yet, in the days and then weeks to come, no one said a word on the matter. Daichi felt extraordinarily awkward all the time, but no one else seemed to be sharing in this awkwardness. Suga acted the same way after the dance as he did the whole time Daichi had known him. At first, Daichi thought that maybe Suga was upset with Daichi, but his consistent smiles in sign language, their time in the practice rooms, and the fact that Suga still wore his practice jersey at the games seemed to prove him otherwise. Still, Daichi was one to let his mind wander, and he found the thoughts festering in his head for weeks after the dance.

He was lost in thought at lunch a few weeks after homecoming when Asahi and Nishinoya sat down at their usual spots at the lunch table. To contrast Daichi's anxiety and misery since the dance, the other two had been particularly giddy since the dance. 

"Daichi?" Asahi waved his hand in front of Daichi's face. "Yoohoo, earth to Daichi!" He whistled to get Daichi's attention. Asahi shared a sideways glance with Noya as Daichi finally snapped back to reality.

"Oh sorry. Hey guys." Daichi said, shaking his head in an attempt to physically remove the thoughts from his mind. 

"Don't know what you're thinking about, Daichi, but I do know you're thinking too much." Noya said with a smile.

"Any thinking is too much thinking for you." Daichi spat at Noya who scoffed. Daichi looked at Asahi who simply shrugged in return. Once Daichi looked away, Asahi frowned. He had stopped worrying about Daichi recently, as it seemed as though he was finally moving into a better state of mind, but since the dance, Asahi couldn't help but feel that his best friend was slowly reverting back into his old ways of thinking. Before Asahi could say anything to Daichi, Tanaka and Bokuto came bounding up to the table. Bokuto smacked the table when he came within arm's length of it. 

"Fantastic news, sir Daichi." Bokuto said as he slid onto the bench next to Daichi. Bokuto wrapped his arm around Daichi and squeezed it tightly. "My parents are going out of town this weekend." Daichi just stared back at him.

"Daichi! React!" Tanaka barked. Daichi furrowed his eyebrows.

"They're going out of town! On Halloween weekend!" Bokuto exclaimed.

"Who's going out of town?" Suga asked as he sat down next to Daichi, the same way he did every day at lunch.

"My parents!" Bokuto cried out. "We can totally have a Halloween party!! I don't even think they would care."

"I don't know, Bo." Asahi said nervously. "What if you get in trouble?" 

"Dude, it will be fine! It can just be a get together with the boys! You guys can bring some friends it will be a freakin' blast." Bokuto smiled.

"I'm in!" Suga shouted. Bokuto and Tanaka cheered him on. "I love Halloween! We should do a group costume!" Suga leaned onto the table.

"Noya and I already have an idea, but you guys can maybe join." Asahi offered. Daichi furrowed his brow again. _What do you mean you and Noya already have a plan?_ Daichi couldn't even begin to wrap his mind around what that meant. 

"I already have a plan." Bokuto crossed his arms triumphantly. "You guys can invite people too, just a few."

"I'm going to ask Kiyoko." Tanaka rested his chin on his hand. "I just bought a Spiderman costume... she would make the prettiest MJ." The rest of the table just stared at Tanaka. 

"Have you spoken to her at all yet?" Daichi was finally receptive enough to tease Tanaka, whose head hung at his comment.

"No." 

"Like I have said before.... maybe you should start there." Daichi said again.

"Yeah! Communication is key." Suga leaned across the table over Daichi. He stopped and made eye contact with Daichi before returning to his seat. _Communication. Suga.... Were you saying that to me? Why don't you_ _communicate? Why does it have to be me?_

"Anyways..." Nishinoya interrupted. "I'm dressing up as Han Solo and Asahi is going to be Chewbacca." Bokuto and Tanaka cheered at the idea. "Maybe you guys could be Luke and Leia." Noya said.

"I call dibs on Luke." Daichi and Suga said in unison. They slowly turned to each other, their eyes squinted.

"You have dark hair, so you should be Leia." Suga said as he crossed his arms. Daichi tried to come up with a better reasoning to make Suga dress as Leia, but he couldn't come up with one. Asahi chuckled as he watched the two of them argue.

"Or Suga could go as Luke, and Daichi could be someone else. Maybe Obi Wan?" Asahi knew that Daichi has always had a soft spot for the Jedi Master. Daichi's face lit up at the mention of his favorite Star Wars character.

"Why didn't I think of that?" Daichi laughed. "Suga, you can be Luke. I have another character to be." Suga frowned. He wanted to see Daichi in a Princess Leia dress.

"Bokuto, what's your costume?" Asahi asked.

"That my friend is a surprise... but I can give you one hint." Bokuto stood up from his seat, turned around, and smacked himself on the ass. All of the boys sat and stared at him, none of them knowing what exactly to take from that hint.

"Okay, forget that I even asked." Asahi shook his head.

* * *

The first group of people to arrive at the party that weekend consisted of Daichi wan Kenobi, Suga Skywalker, Noya Solo, and Asabacca. For last minute costumes, Daichi and Sugawara's costumes came together really nicely. Suga opted for Luke Skywalker's _Return of the_ _Jedi_ look, sporting an entirely black ensemble, with a green lightsaber clipped onto his belt. Daichi wore long brown robes and had his own lightsaber clipped to his belt. When asked why he had those robes readily available, he said he didn't know why, but in actuality, his mom made him play Joseph in the Nativity Story at their church every year. She'd always tell him to 'do it for the kids,' and he would groan in response, but deep down he enjoyed it.

"Did you guys invite anyone?" Bokuto asked as they entered the house. Asahi shook his head.

"Akaashi. He was on the debate team with me freshman year and he's in Sign Language with me and Suga." Daichi took a seat on the couch.

"I invited Yaku." Suga said. "Well.... and then Yamaguchi heard me talking with Daichi and so I had to invite him.... and then Hinata overheard at lunch, so we invited him too." Bokuto's eyes grew at the amount of people Suga invited.

"I invited the whole cheer squad." Noya said, playing his hands on his hips. Everyone turned to Nishinoya. Bokuto's face was pale at this news.

"All of them?" Bokuto asked. Daichi had never seen him this worried before.

"Yep! The whole squad." Daichi began to scold Nishinoya, and Asahi assured Bokuto that they wouldn't let the party get out of hand. 

"Why don't you go get in costume?" Suga said, trying to calm Bokuto down. Bokuto walked out of the room to finish getting into his costume.

Before the three seniors had the chance to scold Noya more, there was a knock at the door, followed by the doorbell being rung an obnoxious amount of times.

"Tanaka's here!" Noya leapt off of the couch to let him in. Sure enough, the culprit was in fact Tanaka, as he stood in the doorway in his Spiderman costume. 

"Is Kiyoko coming?" Daichi asked knowingly. 

"I don't want to talk about it." Tanaka hung his head and the boys laughed. Daichi gave him a firm clap on the back and told him to try and have a good time tonight. Bokuto came down the stairs a few moments after Tanaka's entrance. His costume looked professional. His hair wasn't in its usual spikes, but rather a more relaxed, combed over hairdo. On his arm, he carried a large circular shield. 

"No way! Captain America!" Noya and Tanaka cried in unison. Bokuto triumphantly paraded around the room, his arms outstretched, soaking in the glory his costume was granting him. 

"What does that have to do with the hint you gave us yesterday?" Asahi asked.

"America's ass!" Bokuto turned, giving his friends a full view of his rear-end. "Duh!"

There was a knock at the door a few moments later. When Bokuto opened it, his heart dropped into his stomach. Half of the volleyball team stood in the doorway. He didn't have the heart or the back bone to turn them away though, so he welcomed them inside. They all immediately flocked to Suga, who complimented their outfits individually. Yaku wore a puffy pirate shirt, and an eyepatch. Initially, Suga thought that Lev wasn't even in a costume, seeing that he was only wearing a pair of blue jeans and a teal t-shirt. But with some explaining, Sugawara realized that he was actually Steve from Minecraft. Bokuto rushed bowls of chips and cans of soda out into the main area of the party. Lucky enough, everyone had remained rather docile thus far, except for Tanaka and Noya, but they were never expected to be docile. The mood shifted when the next two guests arrived. After two rings on the doorbell, Bokuto opened the door, revealing Oikawa and Iwaizumi in the doorway. Iwaizumi was dressed like Ash Ketchum from Pokémon, and his boyfriend was dressed accordingly, in a Pikachu costume that was barely there. Suga burst into uncontrollable laughter at the sight.

"Holy shit!" He cried out. "Did you get that in the women's section?" He gripped at his sides.

"Maybe I did, maybe I didn't." Oikawa traipsed in and plopped onto the couch and immediately began to socialize with the rest of the boys. As the time passed, a few cheerleaders that had been invited by Nishinoya arrived, but when they realized the state of the party, they left after a while. Only two or three girls stuck around. Daichi's phone buzzed in his lap, and when he picked it up, he had a text from Akaashi on the screen.

**From: Akaashi**

**_Are you guys still there?_ **

**From: Daichi**

_**Yep. We'll be here for a while.** _

_**...** _

_**You coming?** _

**From: Akaashi**

**_Idk... Bokuto is kind of annoying is he?_ **

Daichi looked up from his phone. He couldn't decide if the scene he saw in front of him further proved or disproved Akaashi's question. Bokuto stood in front of the remaining cheerleaders, acting out what Daichi could only imagine was a scene from a Captain America movie. He made loud sound effects with his mouth as he swung his plastic shield around with his unbroken arm.

**From: Daichi**

_**You should come for at least a little bit. I told everyone I invited you.** _

**From: Akaashi**

_**fine.** _

As Daichi put his phone down, he felt a sharp point in his side. He winced. When he turned, he saw Suga looking away from his general direction nonchalantly. Daichi squinted and turned back to the front. A few seconds later, he was poked again. He turned, and Suga's face was bright red from concealing laughter. In between the boys was Suga's plastic lightsaber fully extended and jabbing into Daichi's side.

"Do you mind?" Daichi pushed the lightsaber away.

"Nope. Not at all." Suga mischievously and bopped Daichi on the head with the lightsaber. Daichi flinched and Suga laughed. Suga checked the clock on the wall. "I'm guessing Hinata isn't coming. Maybe it's for the best, we really only invited him out of pity. Looks like Yams won't show either."

Proving Suga's statement wrong, there was a knock at the door. On the front porch, there were six new party guests. Suga's mouth dropped, seeing that his two invites took it upon themselves to invite more people with them. Hinata pushed the door open and ran up to Sugawara, his arms outstretched for a hug. Suga gladly accepted, hugging him tightly before taking a moment to fully gather what Hinata was wearing. His outfit was brightly colored and covered in sequins. The one thing that Suga found questionable about his costume was the dog collar around his neck and the leash attached to it. 

"Hinata." Suga gently grabbed the leash to get a better look at it. "Whatcha wearin?" 

"I'm Bow Bow Siwa!" Hinata explained cheerfully. Suga stared at him, face expressionless. "You know JoJo Siwa? Her dog!" Suga was not following. Hinata groaned. "We took my little sister trick-or-treating, and she wanted us to match, so she was JoJo, and I was BowBow. I didn't have enough time to change." 

"Okay. Well... maybe lose the collar okay?" Suga smiled and Hinata happily and obliviously obliged removing the collar and shoved it into his pocket. The rest of the party-goers that had arrived with Hinata had already dispersed amongst the guests. The two friends the Suga met at his volleyball game were there, the taller one dressed as Batman, and the smaller one dressed as a cat, but a very low effort one. He had only been at the party for about 5 minutes, but had already scoped out a spot away from the action, and was sitting with a small handheld video game. The other three guests stood in the corner, two of them arguing with each other, the third just watching as they fought.

"It's a halloween party! What do you mean you didn't know you had to wear a costume?" Tsukishima growled at Kageyama, who wore a simple hoodie and jeans. Yamaguchi and Tsukki wore matching Dinosaur onesies. "Yamaguchi made me wear this. If I have to wear a costume you do too!" 

Suga sighed. He loved the underclassmen in his clubs, but right about now he was wishing he hadn't invited them, because frankly, they were quite the handful to deal with. He moved back to the couch where the upperclassmen were sitting. Once again, he unlatched his lightsaber from his belt, and poked Daichi with it, this time in the back of the head instead of the side. Daichi flinched again.

"Suga." Daichi turned around and frowned. "Can you stop?"

"I don't know what you're talking about." Suga answered innocently. The lightsaber in his hands said otherwise. Suga hopped over the back of the couch so that he could sit with Daichi and the other upperclassmen. The girls that Bokuto had been entertaining were still trying to capture his attention, but Bokuto's attention had turned to the front door as a new arrival to the party knocked on it. When Bokuto opened the door, Akaashi was standing on the other side of the door. He had dark makeup smudged under his eyes, and he wore all black, one of his arms covered in silver reflective material. When he locked eyes on Bokuto's costume, he groaned.

"Seriously? You're Captain America?" Akaashi rolled his eyes and pushed past Bokuto. 

"No way! Bucky Barnes? The Winter Soldier?" Bokuto followed Akaashi back into the living room. Everyone 'ooh'-ed and 'awe'-d at his costume.

"Did you and Bokuto plan that?" Tanaka asked as he admired Akaashi's costume.

"No." Akaashi scanned the room until he found Daichi. As he approached Daichi and Suga on the couch, Suga poked him with his lightsaber. He swatted the plastic away and glared at Suga who just giggled. "Our costumes match." He said to Daichi as flatly as possible.

"What's the matter with that?" Daichi asked. "You both look good, so it's fine right?" Suga giggled next to him.

"Akaashi's worried people are going to think they're a couple." Suga teased a frowning Akaashi as he prodded him with his lightsaber. Before Akaashi could defend himself, Bokuto reappeared behind him, urging him to speak more on their apparently matching costumes. Akaashi took a deep breath before turning back to deal with the man child behind him. However, when he saw the sheer excitement in Bokuto's expression, he couldn't help but soften his own a little bit. As the night progressed, Bokuto proceeded to follow Akaashi around like a lost puppy, while two cheerleaders followed an oblivious Bokuto. He was completely unaware of the fact that they were following him in attempts to get his attention. Bokuto had always been rather popular with the ladies, but since he had won Homecoming king, his approval rate had sky-rocketed... but he never really picked up on that fact. Initially Akaashi was planning on ditching the party after a while, but the more he talked to Bokuto the more he wanted to stay. He was very confused at this new revelation he was having... coming into this, he thought Bokuto was annoying, and while yes, he was kind of annoying in the sense that he would leave Akaashi alone, the more he thought about it, the more Akaashi realized he didn't really mind the attention he was receiving.

Eventually, the two cheerleaders grew frustrated in Bokuto, as they poured all their attention onto him, he didn't even acknowledge that they were still there. He only spoke to Akaashi. Finally, the girls left, and the party slowly diminished until there weren't many people left.

Daichi and Suga still sat on the same couch they were on earlier, Suga still poking Daichi with his lightsaber at any chance he could, Daichi just sitting and accepting the pokes. Asahi and Noya sat on another couch with Tanaka, discussing something that Noya and Tanaka were very invested in, but that Asahi didn't seem to understand. They hadn't seen Oikawa and Iwaizumi in a while, but Iwaizumi's car keys sitting on the coffee table proved that they must not have gone too far... no one really wanted to check and see where they happened to be though. In the kitchen, Bokuto and Akaashi were still speaking, Bokuto's voice loud and energetic, and Akaashi's gentle and consistent. At the door, Hinata was whining to Kuroo and Kenma.

"Pleaaaaaaaase!" He called out to them.

"Sorry, dude, we have to go. C'mon." Kuroo waved the boy in the direction of the door. "Kenma wants to go home."

"Sorry, Shoyo." Kenma frowned.

"I don't want to go home yet! I'm having fun!" Hinata was starting to get louder. The boys on the couch couldn't help but overhear the commotion at the door.

"Hey," Daichi called out. "We can take him home if it's no big deal. That way he can stay a little longer." Hinata's face beamed as Daichi said that, and he turned back to Kuroo and Kenma. They shrugged and wished Hinata a simple goodbye, leaving swiftly. 

"Thank you, thank you, thank you, Daichi!" Hinata ran in the direction of the couch Daichi and Suga were sitting on, and he launched himself over the back of it, plummeting down onto Daichi's lap. Daichi groaned at the impact, as Suga laughed, watching Hinata wrap Daichi into a big 'thank you' hug. 

"We should watch a scary movie!" Nishinoya said. Tanaka and Suga eagerly responded, but Hinata, Daichi and Asahi seemed a little more hesitant at the idea. "Bo! Can we watch a movie?"

"Sure! I'll be right there." Bokuto and Akaashi returned from the kitchen. As Bokuto set up the tv, Iwaizumi and Oikawa finally reappeared. 

"Hey, Oikawa!" Hinata called out when he saw him. "Where have you guys been?" Hinata was the only person present that didn't have any clue where the two had been for the last half an hour. Everyone else was just choosing to ignore it, but Hinata really didn't know where they had been. Oikawa and Iwaizumi shared a wide eyed glance, neither of them completely sure how to answer the freshman, who sat patiently awaiting an answer.

"I was in the bathroom." Oikawa said finally, taking a seat on the floor. Iwaizumi coughed and sat next to him.

"Me too." 

"You were both in the bathroom?" Hinata asked. Suga sighed

"Why don't we drop it, Hinata." Suga smiled sweetly at Hinata who was trying to understand why the two of them were both in the bathroom for so long. Luckily, Bokuto set up the DVD player just soon enough that Hinata didn't have time to ask anymore questions.

"W-what movie are we watching?" Asahi said, he was trying to act calm but was very apparently descending into a ball of nerves.

"Make it something SUPER scary!" Noya cried out as Asahi begged him to stop encouraging it.

When they finally decided on one, Bokuto both sat together on the third couch in the room behind Oikawa and Iwaizumi who were both still sitting on the floor. Hinata had managed to wedge himself between Daichi and Suga. As Suga glanced over his shoulder, he couldn't tell who was more nervous to watch the movie, Daichi or Hinata. Anytime anything remotely scary, or threatening happened, Hinata would bury hid face in Daichi's shoulder. At the same time, Daichi would jump each time he thought something might happen, and most of the time nothing ever did. Suga couldn't help but giggle at the scene. He expected Hinata to react poorly to the movie, but Daichi was like a baby watching it. _Cute._

Daichi was trying to focus on anything but the movie, but the plot was just interesting enough that it kept sucking him back in. As something gory was happening on the screen, Hinata threw himself onto Daichi, cowering at the imagery. Daichi pretended to be brave and comfort him, but in actuality, he was scared shitless. As he cringed at the TV, he shifted his gaze elsewhere, so that he wouldn't have to see whatever was occurring. His gaze fell upon the couch where Bokuto and Akaashi were sitting. For the first time since the movie started, something caught his attention for long enough that he wasn't absolutely terrified by the movie. He did a double take, and it was dark in the room, but when he stared for long enough.... _are they holding hands?_ On the couch just next to the one he, Hinata and Suga were sitting on, Daichi was almost positive that he could see Bokuto and Akaashi's fingers intertwined, their hands just in between them. _Okay what the actual fuck? Oh my_ _God, what the hell?_ He had to pry his gaze from the interaction. He couldn't even begin to wrap his mind around the fact that the two of them were actually holding hands... he had to basically force Akaashi to come because he thought Bokuto was annoying and now they were.... _Ugh. My head hurts._ Daichi knew the situation was too much because he realized he would rather be watching the horror movie than thinking about what had happened between Bokuto and Akaashi.

When he finally craned his neck back to the TV, he couldn't help but feel a pair of eyes staring at him. They didn't belong to Hinata, because his eyes were buried in a pillow to avoid seeing the screen. When he turned his head to match the gaze, he found Suga staring at him. Daichi made a confused face.... _why is he looking at me like that?_ Daichi watched as Suga's eyes disconnected from his own and they eventually locked on Daichi's hand. Suddenly, Daichi's eyes grew wide. _Did he want to hold my hand?_ Daichi's heart began to race. _No. No way that's what he meant. Nope._ As Daichi was trying to shake the idea from his mind, Suga took it upon himself to extend his arm behind Hinata, his palm facing the ceiling, just asking for Daichi to place his hand in his own. Daichi finally saw Suga's hand, and looked back up at his eyes. He gulped, and gently slid his hand on the couch cushion until they were holding hands. _His hand is so soft._ Daichi thought, heat rushing to his cheeks. Suga had stopped staring at Daichi, and his gaze had returned to the movie, but he never once let go of Daichi's hand. As time passed, Daichi had deduced that the reasoning must be that he thought Daichi was still scared of the movie... that's it... there isn't any other reasoning.... but as the credits rolled, Suga didn't let go. Daichi did want him to. Their hands only separated when Hinata finally got up from his seat in between them. Initially when Hinata had chosen a seat in between them, Daichi was pissed, not being able to sit next to Suga... but in the end, Hinata was able to conceal them holding hands for whatever reason. As Hinata stood from the couch, Suga quickly unlocked his fingers from Daichi's and returned his hand to his lap. Daichi watched him act as though nothing had happened.... _It must have been because of the movie then._

They offered to help Bokuto clean up from the party, but he insisted that he would be able to clean it up himself. As he saw them out, Akaashi hung back, not heading out onto the porch with the rest of them.

"Akaashi, do you need a ride home?" Daichi asked. Akaashi suddenly grew awkward, glancing from Bokuto to Daichi.

"Uhm... no thanks. Bokuto's gonna take me home later." He finally answered. _Later?_ Daichi thought. It was already almost one in the morning. The boys obliged however, leaving Bokuto and Akaashi in the doorway

In the back seat of Asahi's car, Hinata had hit his second wind of energy.

"That movie was awesome!" He cried.

"No way you thought it was awesome, little man," Tanaka chortled. "You hid your face for 75% of it."

"I liked the parts I saw." Hinata frowned, as he crossed his arms. 

Daichi ended up liking the movie too... not for the same reasons though. As they drove the various passengers home, Daichi sat with his hand palm up in his lap, staring down at it, trying his best to not forget the way Suga's hand felt in it. _Damn, Daichi.... this is bad._ He thought to himself... But he couldn't help but smile.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Daichi's got it bad.... who's gonna tell him?
> 
> thank you erica for proofreading love you to the moon and back
> 
> thank you for reading it means the world to me


	14. They Know... Both of Them Know

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> thanksgiving time :)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> they're starting to catch on

**To:** **Asahi**

_**Are you awake?** _

_**...** _

_**Asahi.** _

_**...** _

_**Asahi.** _

_**...** _

_**Dude wake up!** _

Daichi threw his phone down onto the pillow next to him. He didn't get much sleep last night, his mind spiraling with the events of Bokuto's Halloween party. Finally, the phone buzzed next to him.

**From: Asahi**

**_what's wrong? I just woke up!_ **

Daichi sighed as he got out of bed and started to put shoes on.

**To: Asahi**

_**I need to talk to you. I'm coming over.** _

With that last message, Daichi exited his room, and left in the direction of Asahi's home. Asahi answered Daichi's urgent sounding knock at the door. Daichi grabbed his best friend's wrist and pushed past him, dragging Asahi behind him all throughout the house until they had ended in the backyard. It was November now, and the leaves had fallen off of most of the trees and there was a chilly breeze in the air.

"Dude..." Asahi groaned. "Can't we talk inside? It's cold out here?" But before Daichi could answer, he was already halfway up the ladder to the tree house. "Fine. I'll be right back." Asahi walked into the house, reappearing a few minutes later with a few blankets in hand. He tossed them up to Daichi before ascending the ladder to join him in the tree house. "Okay. What is your deal?" 

"Suga and I held hands at the party last night." Daichi blurted out. He couldn't decide if he was proud or embarrassed to say it.

"Okay.... and?" Asahi knew the two of them had had something going on since the school year started. He was surprised it had taken this long for something to happen between the two of them.

"Am I gay?" Daichi said finally. Asahi giggled a little under his breath. "Dude. Don't laugh at me. I'm being serious." 

"Okay... Daichi. Did you like holding hands with Suga?" Asahi said, still trying to stifle the giggles.

"Yes." Daichi refused to make eye contact with Asahi, looking everywhere in the tree house except at his best friend's face.

"And you did give him your practice jersey.... do we need to bring up Homecoming too?" Asahi smirked.

"No! Please don't talk about Homecoming!" Daichi exclaimed, practically falling over onto his side. "I guess I am gay. What the fuck, Asahi. Did you know?" Asahi laughed again.

"Well, I had my suspicions." 

"What the fuck does that mean? I've dated girls before...." Daichi scratched the back of his head. "Yui! Yeah! I dated Yui!" Daichi struggled to remember his ex-girlfriend's name.

"Yeah, in seventh grade!" Asahi slapped his knee. "That doesn't count! You were like 12!" Daichi frowned.

"What the heck am I supposed to do now?" Daichi ran his fingers through his hair. 

"Dunno." Asahi shrugged with a smile. "You could talk to him about it." Daichi made a disgusted face.

"Absolutely not." Daichi declared. "That would be so embarrassing." 

"What do you mean? You're so convoluted all the time, Daichi. Just tell him how you feel. Be more straight-forward." Asahi smiled. Daichi thought for a moment. It sounded easy, but Daichi knew that it would not be anywhere near as easy as it seemed. 

"I don't think I can. It's not that simple...." Daichi frowned for a moment until he remembered the other thing he wanted to speak to Asahi about. "Oh my god! Last night! Bokuto and Akaashi! Did you see them?" Asahi began to nod vigorously.

"I know right?! What was that?" They began to laugh. "Maybe you should just be more like Bokuto." Asahi nudged Daichi with his foot as Daichi planted a punch onto Asahi's arm.

"Yeah, right."

* * *

Suga woke up happier than usual. He rooted around through the mess on the floor to find his phone. When he found it, he eagerly dialed a number, anxiously waiting for the line to stop ringing.

"What do you want?" Oikawa barked from the other line.

"Oh don't be such a bitch! I have something exciting to tell you." Suga said, as he sat back down on his bed.

"I'm waiting." 

"Daichi and I held hands last night." Suga squeezed his knees to his chest. There was no answer on the other line. "Oikawa? Are you there?" 

"Is that really what you called to tell me?" 

"You're a dick. Honestly." 

"What?! It's obvious he has a fat crush on you, it's about time something actually came out of it." Oikawa deadpanned. Suga's jaw dropped.

"Wait, what?" 

"You're seriously telling me you can't tell?" Oikawa began to laugh. "And I thought Daichi was the hopeless one." 

"Wait, what?" Was all Suga could muster to answer.

"Would you quit saying that?" Oikawa snapped. "How did you grind your ass off with him at Homecoming but you had to hold hands to figure it out?" The line was silent. "Well, you have a crush on him too, don't you?" Suga paused. "Oh come on, you wouldn't have called me if you didn't."

"Okay, fine." Suga answered reluctantly.

"Well.... are you going to do something about it?" 

"Do what?" 

"Wow. You're an idiot." Suga didn't need to see Oikawa's face to know that he was rolling his eyes. "Tell him you like him... give him a kiss... I don't know... do something." _Do something...._ Suga's mind was moving a mile a minute. "Hellooooo? Earth to Sugawara?" Oikawa called from the other line.

"I don't know what to do." Suga gulped.

"Welp... you better figure it out." Before Suga could answer, Oikawa hung up the call. Suga frowned and threw his phone back onto the floor. _Do something.... but what?_

* * *

A new addition to the groups' lunch table caused a bit of an uproar the week after the Halloween party. The boys greeted Bokuto as he sat in his usual seat, next to Tanaka, across from Nishinoya, but a few moments after he took his seat, Akaashi wandered over from the lunch line and sat next to Bokuto. No one knew what exactly to make of it.

"No, I think I will pass my midterms this year." Tanaka said proudly. Nishinoya laughed so hard, he almost spit out his milk.

"No offense, but no you won't." He said loudly.

"I've been studying a lot!" Tanaka fibbed. Suga and Hinata entered the lunchroom, and sat down where they usually did.

"What's going on?" Suga asked Daichi as he slid in next to him.

"Tanaka is convinced he's going to pass his midterms." Daichi explained as Tanaka and Noya argued on the other end of the table.

"Pffft." Suga scoffed. "Okay, that's hilarious." Suga looked past Daichi to get a view of the argument when he saw that Akaashi was sitting next to Bokuto. He craned his neck back to Daichi, his mouth wide open. "What the hell?" He whispered. "Are they like.... a thing now?" Daichi shrugged. He wasn't all too sure on what they were either.

"On the subject of midterms.... I can't wait for them to be over." Asahi chuckled. 

"Oh shut up dude. You have like three classes. I'm actually going to die taking mine. I'm going to have to cram so hard for calc. And AP history. And AP Lit." Daichi began to rattle off all of the tests and projects he was going to have to work on for midterms.

"Don't forget sign language." Suga chimed in with a smile. "You're still pretty bad at it."

"Okay, that was a little harsh." Daichi smirked and the two laughed for a second. As they laughed, their eyes met for a second, and suddenly, they both became rather tense, and they both snapped their necks back forward, so that they weren't looking at the other. Asahi shot a knowing look at Daichi, who glared back at him.

"I'm not too worried for my tests." Hinata said, breaking the awkward silence that had fallen over the table. 

"Maybe you should be, bud." Suga said as kindly as possible. "If you do poorly, Coach might bench you." Both volleyball and football season were quickly coming to a close within the next few weeks before Thanksgiving break.

"But the season is almost over!" Hinata cried in protest.

"Yeah, but there's still tournaments and stuff. Doesn't matter to me. I'm quitting at the end of the season, but I'm sure you're going to want to go to the tourneys." Suga shrugged. Daichi furrowed his eyebrows.

"You're quitting?" He seemed really concerned at the decision Suga had made. Suga awkwardly smiled at Daichi.

"Yeah, it's no big deal. I'm not going to play in college, and I rarely play now that Coach got Kageyama under control so I'd just be riding the bench again. Tournaments aren't even mandatory as it is... it's fine." Daichi couldn't help but notice an underlying tone of sadness in Suga's voice. He frowned, but decided to not make him speak more on it. It obviously upset him. 

Daichi sat listening to the various conversations that were taking place around him at the table. Hinata was eagerly describing something to Nishinoya and Asahi who listened attentively to the barely cohesive story the freshman was telling. Something came over Daichi all of a sudden.... the words that Asahi had said to him in the tree house hadn't stopped ringing through his head since he had said them... 'be more straight-forward.' _Now how the hell am I supposed to do that?_ He sat trying hopelessly to think of some way to show some sort of sign to Suga. He settled for something simple that could potentially be taken as a mistake in case it got awkward. Daichi shifted his weight on the bench a little bit, scooting ever so slightly in Suga's direction. Once he had readjusted, he slid his leg closer to Suga, very closely, so as to not bring attention to it. Finally, he pressed the side of his thigh against Suga's, similar to the way they sat on the piano benches in the practice rooms. The only difference here is that Daichi had more than enough room to keep his leg to himself. As Suga felt Daichi's leg, he turned to look at him. The two made eye contact for a second, Daichi's face riddled with fear. Suga smiled and looked back at his lunch. He scooted a little closer to Daichi, pressing his own leg back into his. Daichi's eyes grew wide, and as much as he tried to fight it, a small smile crept onto his face. It had taken Daichi practically the whole lunch period to be more straightforward, and the two only had a few minutes left to sit that close. As the bell rang, Daichi practically had to tear his leg from Suga's... he did not want to go to class... Why couldn't the two of them stay in the lunchroom? He frowned and stood up, waiting for Suga to follow him out of the lunchroom.

They took the same walk to sign language that they took everyday. One thing they noticed today was Bokuto and Akaashi walking behind them the whole way to the classroom. When they got to the door, Bokuto stopped and spoke to Akaashi for a while before saying goodbye and walking away. Suga and Daichi were already in their seats when this occurred so they just looked across the circle and shared a glance that just said... 'what the fuck?' Suga giggled as Akaashi took his seat next to Daichi.

"I'm guessing you don't think Bo is annoying anymore? That was quite the change of heart." Daichi said sarcastically. Akaashi smiled to himself.

"I guess you could call it that."

* * *

Regardless of Asahi telling Daichi he needed to be more straightforward, there was only so much he could do without self-destructing. Daichi was a straightforward person in a lot of ways, but along these lines, he was hopeless... and he knew it. The weeks following the Halloween party were littered with stolen little moments, thighs brushing at the lunch table, extra piano help in the practice rooms, and little moments like that. Asahi did his best to encourage Daichi into doing more, but Daichi couldn't bring himself to make any sort of concrete move. The week before midterms, Daichi and Suga sat on the piano bench in a practice room, like they did most days during eighth period. After practicing for a while, they usually got distracted and spent most of the time talking to one another, and today was no exception to that.

"I'm so pumped for Thanksgiving. I think it might be my favorite holiday." Daichi said as he mindlessly plunked the keys on the piano.

"Meh. I'm not a huge fan." Suga shrugged as Daichi's mouth fell wide open.

"Not a fan of Thanksgiving? Come on? It's such a cool holiday! You just... eat? What's not to like?" Daichi's mouth was watering just thinking about the feast his parents were going to make in a week.

"I've never really celebrated it. I did when I was little, but I was a picky eater then, so it wasn't super fun. I don't think I've had a formal Thanksgiving dinner in like..." He paused and counted on his fingers, "...twelve years. Last year I went to the gas station and ate some nachos for Thanksgiving." Suga smiled. Daichi's expression softened.

"Okay, you have to come to our family Thanksgiving." Daichi stated.

"Daichi. I don't really want to intrude, it's fine."

"Are you kidding me? My mom loves you, she's constantly asking about you. She would be thrilled if you came." Daichi said truthfully.

"Really? She asks about me?" Suga blushed a little bit.

"She totally does! We always have too much food. We have a joint meal with Asahi and his moms. Both of our extended families live too far away for us to go see them most years, so we made a little tradition of having Thanksgiving with them." Daichi smiled at Suga who offered a cute smile back. "You should come." Suga pressed his lips together, pausing before he finally answered.

"Okay fine... But I want you to know I'm going for your mom." He stuck his tongue out at Daichi, who laughed in response.

"Hey, that's okay. She'll be super happy to hear that you're coming."

Suga smiled to himself. He couldn't remember the last time he had a functional family holiday party. Although it wasn't technically his family's dinner, he couldn't help but be excited for it. Daichi pulled his phone out of his pocket and typed out a message. A few moments later, he showed his screen to Suga. He had sent a text to his mom telling her that he invited Suga to come for Thanksgiving, and her response was full of exclamation points and heart emojis. Suga giggled at the message and then without thinking, he moved his leg so that his knee was touching Daichi's. The room fell silent for a second.

"Oh sorry. My bad." Suga said, his face growing red. Daichi felt a surge of confidence as he reached down and placed his hand on Suga's knee.

"It's okay." He said. Suga awkwardly laughed and turned back to the front.

 _Fuck, I could kiss him right now._ Suga thought to himself.

 _You should kiss him right now._ Daichi thought to himself. _I'm going to do it. I will._ He turned slightly in Suga's direction. He hadn't kissed anyone before... Why was he doing this? He took a deep breath. _You're just gonna lean in and do it, Daichi, it's simple._ Daichi spent just a little too much time thinking about how he was going to kiss Suga that the bell concluding eighth period rang, and Suga promptly stood up from the bench. _Damn it, Daichi. Would you stop thinking so much for once in your goddamn life._ Daichi packed his sheet music up and neatly placed them into his folder. He kept glancing back and forth at Suga, who stood on the other side of the small space... he seemed rather enthralled in whatever was occurring on his phone.

**To: Oikawa**

**_I almost kissed him just now. Deadass. I almost did._ **

**From: Oikawa**

**_And why didn't you? Also stop saying deadass. You know I hate that word._ **

**To: Oikawa**

**_deadass got too scared. he is deadass too intimidating. deadass._ **

**From: Oikawa**

**_Fuck you._ **

**To: Oikawa**

**_< 3 I am going to his family thanksgiving tho :P_ **

**_...._ **

**_deadass_ ** ****

**From: Oikawa**

**_I'm blocking your number._ **

Suga snorted and slid his phone back into his pocket. He was really excited for Thanksgiving now. The two walked side by side to the parking lot. Daichi wanted nothing more than to grab Suga's hand that hung so close to his own. It would have been so easy to just reach out and grab it... to intertwine their fingers the same way they did that night at the Halloween party. He couldn't bring himself to do it though. He just couldn't.

"Do you guys do like the whole shabang?" Suga asked as he eagerly turned back to face Daichi.

"Shabang?" Daichi asked. 

"You know, like actual turkey and like cloth napkins and you dress nicely and stuff?" Daichi scanned Suga's face for any signs of joking, but from what Daichi could tell, he was being 100% serious.

"Yeah. We do." Daichi couldn't help but feel guilty when he saw Suga's reaction. Suga's eyebrows raised in question, almost like he didn't believe that his family could be so functional and stereotypical.

"Well, I look forward to it." Suga smiled sweetly.

Asahi was thrilled when they told him the good news.

"You're really gonna come?" His face lit up, and he smiled from ear to ear. "That is so great! My mom and I were going to make cupcakes. Do you have a favorite flavor?" Suga smiled gently at the man.

"Nope. Surprise me!" He answered. Asahi eagerly nodded his head as they crawled into his car.

As the semester was progressing on, the wind was becoming more and more brisk, and as Suga buckled his seatbelt, he couldn't help but notice that the skin on his knuckles was dry and cracked. He frowned and began to pick at the skin. By the time they had pulled into his driveway, he had absentmindedly picked so much that his hands were bleeding. He wiped the blood off on the inside of the hem of his shirt and quickly exited the car. He turned back and waved at Asahi and Daichi as he entered the front door.

"He seemed really shocked that we had a real Thanksgiving dinner?" Daichi said, his eyes glued on Suga's house as they pulled out of the driveway.

"Really?" Asahi asked. They drove down the road, a frown creeping onto Daichi's face.

"He said he couldn't even remember the last time he had a Thanksgiving dinner." 

"Maybe his family just isn't too big on holiday's like that." Asahi tried to reason.

"I don't know..." Daichi crossed his arms. "I'm glad he's coming to ours."

* * *

To absolutely no one's surprise, Daichi aced all of his midterm exams. He studied like a madman, sure, but it paid off immediately as he got his scores back the day before Thanksgiving break. The one exception to his clean sweep was his sign language midterm.

"An 89?" He groaned in the practice room as he looked over the test for the four hundredth time. He maniacally flipped through the pages, desperate to find an error in the grading. "I was positive that I got an A." Suga smirked behind him.

"You still got a high B+." He reminded Daichi. "That's still an accomplishment." Suga slid onto the piano bench next to Daichi. 

"I wanted to get an A." Suga couldn't help but giggle at Daichi's attitude. He had never seen him act like this before, but as he glared at his test, he was practically pouting over the grade like a toddler. 

"Well, why don't we put that away and play," Suga pushed the paper and Daichi's hands away, motioning towards the piano. As Suga touched Daichi's hand, Daichi saw the cuts and blood that was dried onto his knuckles. Suga saw that he noticed, and tried to pull his hands away quickly, but before he could retract them, Daichi grabbed them. He firmly grasped Suga's hands, while still remaining gentle around the cuts on his knuckles. He scowled at Suga's hands, and then looked up, his expression softer than it was a moment before.

"Did you get into a fight?" Daichi said, his face ridden with worry. Suga let out an awkward giggle.

"What? No! It's getting cold out, and my hands get dry." Suga said. Daichi looked back down at his hands. They were more than dry, they were cracked and it looked painful. Daichi bit the inside of his cheek. He didn't know how he didn't realize it before now, the boys were partners in sign language for god's sake, he looked at his hands everyday. He gave Suga an unbelieving look. "Okay, and I pick at them when I get bored. And anxious. It's fine." Suga finally pulled his hands away from Daichi's unrelenting grasp. 

"You shouldn't pick at them." Daichi said with a straight face. Suga rolled his eyes.

"Thank you, dad. I was completely unaware." Suga turned to rifle through his backpack. He wasn't looking for anything in particular, he just didn't want to look at Daichi. 

"Suga." Daichi put his hand on Suga's shoulder, but he nudged it off. "I'm sorry. I know you know. Sorry, it's a force of habit to be overbearing like that." Daichi sighed, as Suga didn't turn back. Daichi's chest grew tight as he realized that his attitude really must have struck a nerve with Suga. He didn't understand why, but he didn't have to understand to know that he didn't like the way Suga was ignoring him. "I just want you to take care of yourself." Suga turned back around and rolled his eyes again. This time there was a small smirk that accompanied the eye roll.

"I do take care of myself." Suga fibbed. Daichi titled his head a little to give Suga a questionable stare. "Okay, I take care of myself for the most part. It's okay. I'll start using lotion if it will make you happy." 

"Oh, that would make me the happiest man on earth." Daichi joked as Suga rolled his eyes at him once more. The pair sat in silence for a little while. The tension that was once present had dissipated, but it was replaced by a different sense of awkwardness. They both had something to say to the other, but neither of them were willing to say it just yet.

"So.... what should I wear on Thursday?" Suga finally broke the silence.

"Just like, jeans and a nice sweater?" Daichi chuckled. "Whatever you wear will make my mom happy... she says I dress too boring."

"Well, you do." Suga deadpanned. Daichi pursed his lips.

"I think I'm stylish."

"Daichi." Suga said. Daichi didn't answer. "Daichi. We both know you dress like a middle aged man..."

"That is not nice."

"But it is the truth. I would have to say I agree with Su on this one." Daichi sucked air into his mouth as he pressed a hand on his chest, pretending to be in pain at the comment. 

"That's harsh."

"But... like I said.... It's the truth."

* * *

On Thanksgiving morning, Suga woke up eager to get out of the house. His stomach growled as he walked out of his bedroom, but when he opened the fridge, he was unfortunately only met with assorted condiments, some moldy looking vegetables that had probably been in there for a month or two, and a whole lot of alcohol. He groaned, but then remembered the supposed feast he would be getting that night, so he was able to push his hunger into the back of his mind. The only issue was that he hadn't asked permission to go to Daichi's yet, and knowing his mother, she would surely find one or another problem with him going. He spent the hours after waking up cleaning his room, something he hadn't done in so long that he couldn't remember the last time he had seen his floor. He figured that the less things she had to be mad at him over, then the higher the chance she would be willing to let him eat with Daichi and Asahi's families.

He decided to finally make his move when he heard his mom walking down the hallway. He left his bedroom door, and took a deep breath.

"Mom?" She stopped at the top of the stairs and cocked an eyebrow at her son.

"Koushi?" She said in response. It wasn't really a bitter answer, but rather indifferent. Suga gulped before speaking again.

"Can I go to a friend's house tonight? To eat dinner?" He shuffled his feet on the floor. 

"Were you invited? Or are you just gonna mooch off of your friends the same way you mooch off of me?" She hissed.

"I was invited." Suga said, fighting back the tears that had begun to well in his throat. His mother hummed.

"Let me see your midterms." She said randomly, her arm outstretched. Suga was incredibly confused. He couldn't remember the last time his mother took any interest in his schoolwork, let alone checked his grades. Still, he scurried into his room, and grabbed the paper out of his backpack. He had mostly A's, a B or two, and only one C on all of his exams. He sheepishly handed the papers over to his mother, and she promptly leafed through them. 

"What the fuck did you get a C on?" She spat.

"Anatomy." He said, almost in a whisper.

"Did you study?" He did... not as much as he should have, but he did study.

"Yes." His mother laughed.

"Obviously not. You better get your grades up because I'm not paying for your sorry ass to go to college with grades like these."

"Mom," Suga said, pain in his voice. "Why do we have to talk about this right now?" Talking about college always made Suga's stomach churn. With that comment, Suga watched as his mother wound her arm back to smack him on the side of the head. His reflexes were faster than she was, and he put his hand up in time to block the impact. Her hand made solid contact with his hand. He winced as he felt the scabs that had begun to heal open upon impact.

"Don't fucking back talk me." Suga bit the inside of his lip, fighting back double the amount of tears now, spurring from his mother's cruelty, and the stinging pain in his hand.

"Can I go? Just tell me." Suga said, slowly inching away from her, distancing himself from her arm's length.

"I don't give a shit what you do." Suga didn't wait for her to say another word. He spun on his heel and entered his room. He pulled his phone out of his pocket, cringing as his raw skin rubbed the inside of his denim jeans.

**To: Daichi**

**_can I please spend the night at your house_ **

**_..._ **

**_I can't be home right now_ **

**_...._ **

**_please_ **

The text bubble indicating that Daichi was typing appeared almost instantaneously. 

**From: Daichi**

_**Of course. :)** _

Suga smiled weakly at the phone screen before shutting it off and throwing miscellaneous clothes into his backpack. He zipped it up haphazardly before typing out another message.

**To: Daichi**

**_I know it's early but I need to come over now. I am leaving my house._ **

**From: Daichi**

_**See you soon.**_

Suga pushed out of his bedroom door, fully expecting to find his mom standing on the other side of it. She was nowhere to be seen when he exited though, and he promptly left, without saying goodbye to her. The cold air nipped at his face as he opened the front door, but he wanted to get away from his house as fast as possible. He walked as fast as his legs could carry him without breaking into a full on sprint. Daichi's house wasn't too far from his own, but with his heavy bag, and the brisk cold, Suga felt like he walked for hours. When he found himself on Daichi's doorstep, his cheeks were flushed with color and he couldn't feel his nose or lips. When he went to press the doorbell, he caught a glance of his hand, and saw his knuckles, which were covered in open, cracked skin, much worse than they had been the day Daichi saw them. He frowned, knowing full and well that Daichi, and surely his mother too, would make a fuss if he saw the state of his hands. He pulled the cuff of his sweater to cover his hand, and he pressed the doorbell.

Su's kind face was on the other side of the door when it opened, her face plastered with a kind smile.

"Suga!" She cried at the sight of him. Suga didn't mean to start crying... he really didn't. But as he stepped into the house, and felt the sudden rush of warm air, and absorbed the smells of the food and pastries that were cooking for their dinner that evening, and saw the kind smile on Daichi's mother's face, he couldn't help but let out a small sob. As soon as Su saw the distress on his face, she wrapped him into a tight embrace.

"Oh, honey." She said, her own face riddled with worry. "Take off your backpack, please, sit down, what's wrong? You're as cold as ice." She ushered Suga onto the couch, and before he had time to protest, she had wrapped him in a blanket. The scent of their detergent wafted up into Suga's nose as he tried to warm himself under it. _Smells like Daichi. Where is he? I do not want him to see me like this._ Su slid in next to Suga and she wrapped her arm around his slender shoulders. "What's wrong?" He tried to hold back his tears, but they had already started, just causing a catalyst for more to follow.

"I got into a fight with my mom." He pulled his hand out from under the blanket to wipe his tears away. As he did, Su noticed the sorry state of his knuckles.

"Oh, Suga. Did she do this to you? You can tell me, baby. It's okay." Suga's shoulder shook with tears.

"No, they're dry from the weather." Su gave him the same disapproving look that Daichi gave him in the practice room. "And I pick at them." The mother's gaze was unrelenting. "But yes they are bleeding today b-because of her. She tried to hit me and-- I blocked her hand. It just opened up the s-scabs. It's fine." As soon as the words left Suga's mouth, Su pulled him close to her, and squeezed him in a hug. Even though she was significantly shorter and smaller than him, she still tucked his head under her chin. Suga felt guilty for springing this upon her like this, he barely knew the woman, but in the warmth of her embrace, he couldn't help but cry. They sat for a while on the couch like that, Suga's head tucked under Su's chin while she gently stroked his back. In those moments, he felt his stomach churn, not with jealousy, but with sorrow. As they sat on the couch there together, Daichi suddenly appeared at the front door, with grocery bags in his hands. He didn't see them as he entered the house.

"Mom! I'm back from the store. They were out of cranberries, so I got the cans. Is Suga here yet?" As Daichi turned around, he finally saw Suga on the couch with his mom. His eyebrows immediately furrowed, his face flooded with concern. As Suga saw him enter, he sat up straight, and Su unwrapped her arms around him. "Hey guys." Daichi said awkwardly. "What's up?"

"Just giving Suga a well-needed hug." Su patted Suga's shoulder and knowingly stood, retrieving the bags from Daichi and retreating to the kitchen. Daichi took her place on the couch next to Suga. They didn't say anything, Suga's body still curled in a ball under the large blanket and Daichi's hands awkwardly placed on his own lap. Su re-entered the room, and both boys snapped their necks to see her.

"Here you go dear." Su said as she placed bandaids and ointment down on the table. Suga smiled back at her and she graciously left once again.

"Your hands?" Daichi reached out and grabbed the bandaids and tube of ointment. He held his other hand outstretched, beckoning for Suga to place his own hand on his palm. Suga reluctantly obliged and placed the worse of his two hands onto Daichi's. He winced when he saw how raw the skin was, but he didn't say anything, instead, he just began to squeeze the ointment onto the cuts, gently smudging it around. Suga sucked in a sharp breath at the sting of the ointment. "Sorry, sorry." Daichi said kindly. As he held Suga's hand, he gently shifted his fingers under Suga's palm, gently stroking his hand to keep his mind off of the stinging of the medication. After a while, Suga stopped looking at his hands, but instead he looked up at Daichi's face. His forehead was slightly creased in concentration, his tongue escaping his lips ever so slightly. _Cute._ Suga continued to watch his face as he felt him apply a bandaid to the deeper cut on his hand. "All done." Daichi finally met Suga's gaze with a kind smile.

"Thank you." Was all Suga could say. They sat for a moment, Suga's freshly bandaged hand still resting in Daichi's, neither one of them wanting to be the first one to disengage. 

"Boys! Who wants to taste test!?" The sound of Su's voice caused them to jump, their hands finally disconnecting.

"Be right there mom." Daichi answered. Suga began to stand from the couch, but before he could walk away, Daichi had wrapped his arms around him, pulling him into a hug, similar to the one that his mother had pulled him into just a few minutes earlier. Daichi's grip was stronger than Su's though. Suga felt Daichi squeeze him a little tighter, as he finally wrapped his own arms around Daichi's broad shoulders. When Daichi finally let go, he let out a soft chuckle. Suga smiled gently. "You looked sad." Daichi said as he gathered the trash from the bandaids.

"I'm better now." Suga folded the large blanket and followed Daichi into the kitchen where Su was ready to have them taste the dishes that she was working on.

* * *

Suga's day got substantially better once he left his own home and arrived at Daichi's. He and Daichi spent a while helping Su prepare the meal they would share later that day, but as the three of them began to fumble over each other in the rather small kitchen, Su had to kindly ask them to leave. They were exploding with giggles as they left the kitchen, practically tripping over each other as they retreated to Daichi's bedroom. They were still laughing as Daichi fell down onto his bed. Suga awkwardly stood right inside the doorway, but something caught his eye on the other side of the room.

"No way!" Suga called out as he crossed the room, his eyes locked on a framed photo on the wall. "Is that Asahi?" The photo in question was old, no doubt about it. It was slightly out of focus, or perhaps the camera quality just wasn't super clear. In the center of the photo, stood a young Daichi and Asahi, Daichi's little arm thrown around Asahi's shoulders. In Daichi's other hand, he was holding a baseball bat high in the air. His face was distorted with joy, his eyes squinted, and his mouth opened in a wide smile. Asahi held a baseball, and wore a more timid smile on his face. "You're taller than him!" Suga pointed out. Daichi rolled out of bed and joined him standing in front of the frame.

"Yeah, I was taller than him until middle school. He hit his last growth spurt and I still don't think he's done yet." Daichi laughed, and Suga eagerly moved to look at the other framed photos on the walls.

"No fucking way!" He found a framed photo of what looked like an elementary school basketball team. In the back row of the boys, stood four familiar faces. The tallest of the four actually being Oikawa, his brunette hair swept similarly to the way he wore it now. Oikawa had his signature smile plastered on his face, but instead of the pearly whites Suga had gotten to know, his teeth were covered with shiny silver braces. "I have to take a picture of this! He told me his teeth were that straight naturally!!" Next to Oikawa was Iwaizumi, a smile barely on his face. He hadn't changed much. Next to him was Asahi, his hair still short like it was in the other photo, a gentle smile on his face. And the last boy in the back row was Daichi. Suga smiled as he looked at Daichi's face. "What grade were you in?" He asked, moving his face closer to get a better look at Daichi's image.

"I think fifth or sixth." Daichi got closer to the frame to see if he could decipher a year. "Sixth. Oikawa's first and last year playing basketball." Suga snorted.

"I cannot imagine that man playing basketball."

"Neither can I, and I was on his team." Daichi laughed. "We convinced him to play because he was tall, but he was so bad at it." Suga covered his mouth with his hand to muffle his laughter.

"Do you have more pictures of you?" Suga asked. Daichi's eyes grew wide at first, but he quickly turned to his bookshelf and produced a small photo album before handing it to Suga. Suga took a seat on the edge of Daichi's bed and eagerly began to leaf through the pages. Daichi sat next to him, watching all of his little reactions to each picture. He flipped through page after page, covered in photos of Daichi's childhood. Daichi at the zoo... Daichi in pre-school... Daichi in Karate class... Daichi in dance lessons... all the photos accurately capturing all of the different quirks and personality traits that Daichi had and that Suga had grown so fond of. "Are you an only child?" Suga asked, looking away from the photo album for the first time since he had opened it.

"Yeah. It's just me and mom and dad." Daichi answered. "What about you?" Suga groaned.

"Ehhh, I don't really know. I think I have some half siblings that are older than me somewhere, but I've never met 'em." Suga said nonchalantly. Daichi sat and stared at him for a moment, as Suga casually turned back to the album and started flipping through the pages again. Suga found at least one little detail for each picture that he saw, taking in all of the aspects of each photo. "You were a cute kid, Daichi. What happened?" Suga joked.

"Ugh, so rude, Suga." 

"I was the opposite. An ugly kid, but now I'm practically a Greek god." Suga folded his arms across his chest and smirked. "You can't even disagree." Suga scoffed. Suga was joking, but Daichi also didn't disagree.

 _Kiss him, Daichi. Kiss him._ And he was going to, right then and there, he had every intention on doing so... until his bedroom door flung open, and Asahi stood in the doorway.

"Happy Thanksgiving!" He cried when he saw his two friends. Daichi bit the inside of his cheek. _Damn._ He thought. _I probably would have pussied out anyway._ "Are you guys ready to watch the dog show? Su said she recorded it for me so we can watch it in the basement! I love the dog show!" Asahi was practically bouncing up and down at the thought of watching the national dog show. "Did you watch the parade! It was so great!" Suga smiled at the sheer joy that was radiating off of Asahi. His excitement was contagious too, the boys all travelled downstairs to watch the program the Asahi was so giddy about. 

In the living room, there were two new faces sitting with Su on the couch.

"Oh, Suga these are my moms by the way." Asahi awkwardly motioned to the two women in front of them.

"Nice to meet you, Suga." The one said. She had long blonde hair that was as sleek and shiny as Asahi's was. "My name is Sara."

"Nice to meet you too." 

"You're the one that ran that killer student section for the football team aren't you?" The other woman said. "I'm Diane. Nice to meet you." Suga shook their hands before Asahi had to practically drag the two of them down the stairs into the basement.

"We need to watch the dog show." Is all he said as he grabbed their wrists and yanked them in the same direction he was headed.

"So, is Asahi adopted?" Suga asked Daichi, Asahi too focused on getting to the TV in the basement to realize they were talking about him.

"Yep. I think he was two or three when they adopted him. And we met when we were four." Daichi explained.

"Wow. You guys have really been best friends forever." Suga said, jealousy creeping into his tone unintentionally. _Don't be jealous, dumbass. They're just best friends._

When the door to the basement opened, Suga couldn't believe his eyes. To match the put together vibe of the rest of the house, the basement practically screamed 'man-cave.' There were movie theater style chairs and a large projector screen on the wall. A mini bar was stretched along the back side of the room, a small fridge stocked full of seltzers, beer, and wine behind it. There were sports and movie posters hung on the wall. Suga's mouth was practically open at the sight.

"Pretty awesome, right?" Daichi said. "Used to be an unfinished basement for years, but my dad got a bonus a few Christmases ago and now we've got this baby down here." Suga was still in awe as Asahi eagerly grabbed the remote to turn on the dog show. _Holy shit. How do they have cable hooked up to a projector? How does that even work?_ Suga slowly took a seat in one of the recliners.

"This is incredible." He finally uttered. Before Daichi could respond, Asahi squealed with joy as the dog handlers began to parade their show pups across the screen. Daichi and Suga giggled at the fact that such a large creature like Asahi was able elicit such a high-pitched squeal, but as the dog show continued, he consistently proved them wrong, squeeing every time there was a cute dog on screen.... which was basically the entirety of the program. 

"The greyhound has to win best of show, look at him, he's so badass." Daichi said, as if he were gambling over the outcome of a sports game.

"Mmmm... I don't think so, he almost nipped at the judge. Probably lost him points." Asahi said straight-faced. Suga watched as these two practically full grown men discussed the possible outcomes for the show. They were so passionate about the breeds, that Suga forgot to watch the actual dog show, he was too busy listening to their conversation.

"What breed do you think will win, Suga?" Daichi asked, abruptly bringing Suga back to reality.

"Uhhmmm...." He hadn't been paying attention. "Maybe the papillon? I like the name." He fumbled out as an answer. Daichi and Asahi hummed in thought as they considered Suga's answer. _They're so goofy. I bet they would freak if anyone knew they were so passionate about this._ Suga smiled to himself and continued to watch his friends react to the show.

The dog show ended with only Asahi accurately guessing the winning breed. Daichi groaned in disapproval once it was announced.

"You guess right every year!"

"I know my stuff, Daichi! Face it!"

* * *

The dinner that Su prepared may as well have been straight from a movie scene. It was every bit of a traditional Thanksgiving day feast that Suga could have imagined. Suga sat in between Daichi and Asahi at the table, Su, Sara and Diane across from them, and Daichi's father at the head. The group was wrapped in boisterous conversation as they passed around the dishes, scooping out helpings onto each of their plates. Daichi handed Suga a bowl of corn and leaned close to his ear.

"Don't try the cranberries. She's gonna make you eat them, but they're gross don't do it." He whispered into Suga's ear. Before Suga could even react, Su chimed in from across the table.

"Suga, dear. Have you ever had cranberries before?" Daichi and Asahi muttered under their breaths about how terrible her cranberries were, but Suga couldn't think of an excuse not to try them fast enough.

"No, I don't think I have." He said as Su scooped some out of the bowl and onto his almost full plate.

"Try them. The boys love my cranberries. Don't you?" She said. At first Suga thought she was joking, given how disgusted Asahi and Daichi seemed at the cranberries before now, but when she said that, they straightened up in their chairs and nodded vigorously. "Take a bite, dear." Suga gulped and scooped some of the cranberries onto his fork. he closed his eyes and took a bite, prepared for the worst. The taste that hit his tongue was far from the worst though.

"Those are so good!" Suga said as he took another bite. Daichi and Asahi exchanged looks of disbelief as Suga ate the whole portion of cranberries that Su had served him. Su watched him eat, her face beaming with pride and joy as he scarfed down the cranberry sauce. The process continued as dinner progressed, Su would serve Suga something, Suga would eagerly scarf it down, and then Su would swoon as Suga complimented her cooking.

"I thought you said you were a picky eater..." Daichi said to Suga as he reached over him to grab another piece of bread.

"I used to be. But how can you not like this? Su, you've outdone yourself, and I haven't even had your cooking before." The table laughed and Suga felt truly at peace with the kindness that was around him. After dinner, Asahi passed around expertly decorated cupcakes that he made for each person at the table. The one he handed to Suga had a chocolate covered strawberry perched on top of the mound of frosting on it. "You made these?" Suga asked in disbelief as he took a bite, melting with the sweetness. Asahi smiled at Suga as he watched him enjoy his handiwork.

"Yes. Last night." Asahi finished passing out the rest of the cupcakes.

Suga wasn't used to having sit down family dinners, but from what he remembered, when you were done eating, dinner was over, and everyone went on their separate ways, but Daichi and Asahi's families proved him wrong once again. They sat at that table wrapped in hearty conversation for hours after the meal had officially ended. The conversation shifted between serious topics and light-hearted ones, sometimes philosophical, other times humorous and friendly. And the thing that really made Suga happy, was that he wasn't an outsider simply sitting in on this post-dinner conversation, he was fully involved, and he felt as though he had been for years. When he would chime into the conversation, everyone at the table would listen intently, and respond, the way normal people did. _This is the way family is supposed to be._ Suga thought to himself. He soaked in every last ounce of it. 

* * *

Asahi and Daichi insisted that Suga sleep in Daichi's bed while they slept in sleeping bags on the floor. Suga figured they would sleep on the couches in the living room, but they seemed to have the ideas of sleepovers very specific in their minds, so they slept on either side of Daichi's bed, in sleeping bags that were just a little too small for them. Suga couldn't sleep, though. The only part of his body that was outside of the covers was his head, and watched the ceiling fan rotate over and over. He turned to one side, towards the direction of Daichi's sleeping bag. They had only turned in a little while ago, but it was nearing 4 or 5 in the morning, so the boys were pretty tired. His feet were cold....

"Daichi...." He whispered. "Daaaaaaaiiiiichi." Daichi stirred, but he didn't wake up. Suga removed his foot from the blankets and inched his leg over off the side of the bed. He pressed his cold toes on the back of Daichi's neck, and Daichi jumped, swatting away at the foot.

"Duuuuuude." Daichi said groggily. "Whyyy?" He sat up and rubbed his eyes. 

"I couldn't sleep. And my feet are cold. I wanted to share that with you." Suga snickered and Daichi laughed in exhaustion.

"What's wrong?" Daichi looked like he was camping with the boy scouts, his red checkered sleeping bag pulled up to his chest.

_I never want to leave here. I love it here, I love you, Daichi._

"I had a really nice time today." Suga said. "Thank you."

"I'm glad you had fun. We loved having you here. Usually my dad and Diane would have bickered more, but I think they played nice because you were here." Daichi hummed, his eyelids batting with sleep. Suga sat up and patted the bed next to him. All tiredness suddenly left Daichi's eyes as they grew wide at the notion. Suga patted again, and Daichi quietly crawled onto the bed next to him. They sat facing each other, both sitting with their legs bent like children in a preschool class. 

_Kiss him. Kiss him. Kiss him._ Suga took a deep breath, shutting his eyes. When he opened them, Daichi was laying down on the pillow next to him. Suga let out a soft laugh... he hadn't even heard him move. Suga laid down next to Daichi, an awkward gap of space between them. Suga laid facing the ceiling again, not wanting to fall asleep or move too much. He laid stiff until Daichi rolled over to face him. Suga didn't realize he was still awake too.

"If you want," Daichi started. "I could put my arms around you." He said in a soft, embarrassed manner. Suga smiled, and didn't answer with words, but instead he inched closer to Daichi's warm body, lifting up enough that Daichi could slide his arms under him. Suga had had a sense of content all day, but right now as he laid in Daichi's bed, wrapped in Daichi's arms, pressed into Daichi.... the content he felt was overwhelming. He didn't even remember falling asleep.

When they woke up, they had barely moved. Daichi woke up first, his arm tingling from being underneath Suga's weight all night. He didn't want to move though, as he didn't want to wake Suga.

 _Shit. Asahi._ He peered over Suga's body to see an empty sleeping bag where Asahi once was. _That little.... he's gonna give me shit for this._ Daichi was about to be really angry, until Suga began to stir next to him and he was reminded of the problem at hand. His new best friend, who he now knows he has more than a little crush on, is now sleeping in his arms.... and he was about to wake up. 

Suga was cold before Daichi got into bed, but when he woke up, he felt warm all over. _Don't make it weird, Suga. This is what you wanted._

"Good morning." Suga said, wriggling himself free from Daichi's arm finally allowing blood to flow back into the limb he had been on top of all night.

"Good morning." 

"Asahi is going to tell everyone about this isn't he." Suga smiled.

"I don't think that would be the end of the world." Daichi took a deep breath. He really meant it too. 

They walked down the stairs, trying to 'act normal' but both of them came off rather suspicious in doing so. Asahi stood at the stove next to Su, the two of them chattering away about the pancakes that were cooking in front of them. They both turned when they heard the other two enter the kitchen.

"Good morning, Sunshines." Su said with her signature smile.

"G'mornin." Asahi said with a smirk. Both boys stared at the large man for a second, not knowing what his intentions were. Asahi set the spatula down, and lifted his hand. He dragged his fingers across his lips to zip them together, and then he pantomimed locking them and flicking the key off into the distance. Suga and Daichi shared a sideways glance with each other, both of them breathing a small breath of relief. Although they couldn't help but wonder how long that secret would remain a secret...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> some fun little notes 
> 
> -Asahi has a sleeping bag he keeps at Daichi's house because he sleeps over so often. it's the same one that he used when they were kids, and Daichi's matches.
> 
> -Asahi is gentle and kind because of his two moms. fuck toxic masculinity! they help him deep condition his beautiful hair and he's proud of that!
> 
> -the cranberry scene is directly influenced by my grandmother who forces everyone to try her cranberries every thanksgiving even though we all hate them and refuse. it usually ends with her shoving the spoon into our mouths.... not fun.
> 
> thank you so much for reading it means the world to me 
> 
> and thank you erica for proofing ur a real one.... but also if there are any typos blame erica not me <3


	15. Thanks for Being You

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Christmas with the boys!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> thank you so much for reading it means the world to me 
> 
> thanks to erica for proofing... but also if there are any typos.... blame erica not me.

The rest of Thanksgiving break was a dream for Sugawara. Su insisted that he spend the rest of the time in the Sawamura household, and after some convincing, he finally caved. Suga watched as she put sheets on the bed in the guest room, and situated the blankets, making sure to ask his opinion before laying each of them down.

"I want you to know that you're welcome here anytime, dear." She said, as she gently patted Suga's shoulder.

"I know. Thank you." It had taken a while for Suga to come to terms with how genuinely kind and selfless Su was, but he was finally accepting of it now.

"No need to thank me. I love having you here. _We_ love having you here." She left him in the room, and he flopped back onto the bed. He was dreading the day he would have to go home, and then eventually go back to school, but he knew it was swiftly approaching and would get here eventually.

Even though Su set up the guest bedroom for Suga, he still spent most of his time in Daichi's room with him, talking, and laughing and just, being in the same space. It had taken a while for Suga to piece it together completely, but after Thanksgiving, he was beginning to realize why he was so drawn to Daichi. Maybe it was more than a little crush?

Closer to the end of Thanksgiving break, Daichi sat on his bed next to Suga who was sprawled out on the comforter next to him. Suga was telling him a story about his childhood, and Daichi sat listening intently, soaking in every last word that Suga had to say.

"So we were at our class Halloween party," He was waving his hands around as he spoke, but he remained flat on the bed. "And I'm pretty sure I was dressed up as a vampire, but that doesn't matter for the story. Anyway, I got this super strong urge to do a cartwheel," 

"A cartwheel?' Daichi asked.

"Yes, Daichi, a cartwheel, pay attention." Suga flicked Daichi's leg and continued with his story. "So I did a cartwheel.... but I didn't look first, and I kicked this kid square in the mouth." Suga said. Daichi had a hard time telling if he was proud or ashamed of it.

"Why did you even want to do a cartwheel in the first place?" Daichi laughed at the thought.

"Dunno. Just the sheer knowledge of the fact that I _could_ made me want to." Suga giggled. "Sucks for the kid though. I'm pretty sure I knocked his tooth out. There was a lot of blood." Suga sighed.

"That sounds awful." 

"It was. I cried like a baby... but so did Clay." Suga crossed his arms across his chest.

"Clay?" 

"The kid I kicked. His name was Clay. He kind of deserved it though, he was a jerk." Daichi laughed at how fast Suga could go from kind and caring to honest and vindictive. Suddenly, he felt a slender finger poking into his thigh.

"Are you poking me for a reason?" He smiled.

"No, not really." Suga looked up and locked eyes with Daichi before awkwardly looking away. Just because he had come to terms with his more than little crush didn't mean it was any less tense around Daichi. "Will you tell me a story about you? Please?" He over exaggerated himself batting his eyes and sticking out his bottom lip. Daichi sighed and laid down next to Suga, whose eyes grew wide at him doing so without asking. The two laid on their sides facing each other, Daichi's head propped up on his hand, and Suga's head nestled in the crook of his elbow on the mattress. Daichi yawned.

"I was nowhere near as impulsive as you were Suga." Daichi tried to rake his mind for a funny or endearing story to share.

"You don't have to be impulsive to be interesting."

"Well, it certainly helps." Suga laughed. "Well, my dad coached my little league baseball team, and Asahi used to sit in the outfield and pick flowers." 

"That's adorable." Suga nudged Daichi's shoulder. "But I want to hear a story about you." Finally, after much deliberation, Daichi picked a story to share.

"Okay, Asahi's is in the story, but he's in most of my childhood memories, so you have to deal with that." Daichi winked. Suga fake groaned.

"Ughhh I _guess_ I'll allow it." He said jokingly.

"One time, we were playing tag," He started.

"Oh this is absolutely riveting Daichi." Suga teased, interrupting Daichi briefly.

"Would you let me finish?" Daichi nudged Suga's arm as they both laughed for a moment. " _Anyway,_ we knew we weren't supposed to be inside, my mom told us over and over to play in the yard, but we were trying this new spy-tag hybrid, and we wanted to use the doors in the hallway," Daichi motioned to the hallway outside of his room. "So I convinced Asahi to turn the lights off, because I told him that real spies had to work in the dark," Suga began to giggle. _Cute._ Daichi thought as he continued to tell his story. "So we're running down the hallway, and it's almost pitch black, and I ran straight into the doorknob on my parent's door." Suga gasped.

"You did not!" He said. "Su told you to go outside." He made a clicking sound with his tongue.

"I know, and we should have listened. It gashed my forehead open, and I had to get two stitches. _And_ they did it without numbing me. I thought Asahi was going to pass out... or throw up. Or both." Suga was suddenly fully invested in this story.

"Asahi watched? Oh poor guy!" 

"I know, he still brings it up sometimes, I think it traumatized him."

"Do you have a scar?" Suga leaned closer to Daichi, whose breaths became shallow at the lack of space between them.

"It's small, but I do." Daichi sat up, and pushed his hair back. Right on his hairline, there was a tiny scar, but it was large enough to see. Suga eagerly sat up onto his knees, and inched closer and closer to Daichi, leaning forward so that he could see the scar. He placed his hand gently on Daichi's forehead, and although Daichi didn't mean to, he started to hold his breath. Suga gasped a little when he finally located the scar, but when he found it, he rubbed it a little bit with his finger. Daichi sat frozen, Suga's face so close to his own... it would have been so easy to just lean forward and kiss him. Right when he thought about it, Suga leaned forward and planted a quick peck on top of Daichi's scar, and the breath Daichi had been holding was suddenly released.

"All better." Suga said with a devilish grin. Daichi was in so much shock that he couldn't even muster an answer. Suga yawned and laid back down. "I don't want to go back to school." Daichi's chest released when Suga changed the subject, but in the back of his mind, the fact that Suga literally just kissed him, well his scar, was still buzzing in the back of his mind.

"Why not?" Daichi laid down to match Suga. "It's only until Christmas and then we have break again."

"I know.... I'm just not ready for senior year to be over, and it's going by so quickly." Suga pressed his face into the sheets and Daichi smiled weakly. He knew exactly where Suga was coming from.

"I get it. But hey, you've got plenty of stuff to look forward to in the spring semester. Like the musical and graduation," Daichi began to rattle off any and every minuscule event that could be something positive in Suga's life. The longer he talked, the quieter he noticed Suga got, and eventually, he realized that he had fallen asleep. Daichi smiled, and waited 15 minutes to make sure he wouldn't wake up again. As the time passed, he sat, just far enough away from Suga, but he wanted nothing more than to lay pressed against him the same way he did on Thanksgiving.

He thought about that a lot.

When 15 minutes had come and gone, Daichi stood up and left his room, and entered the guest room. Inside, he pulled back the covers, and fluffed the pillow before reentering his own room. Once back in his room he circled around to Suga's side of the bed. He then leaned and scooped the boy out of bed, carrying him like a baby all the way back to the guest room before gently laying him down in the bed that he had just prepared for him. Daichi was strong and sturdy enough to carry Suga, even though Suga was relatively light and not that difficult to carry. Daichi pulled the blankets over Suga's body and tucked them in a little bit. He stood above the bed, questioning how long was too long to sit and watch your best friend/ _assumed unrequited crush_ sleep in your house. Before it got too weird, he leaned forward, and planted a quick peck on Suga's forehead similar to the one that he had left on his own forehead earlier. He quickly turned to leave, stopping only slightly in the doorway when he heard a small voice call out from behind him. 

"Thank you, Daichi." He spun on his heels, Suga's eyes were closed, but Daichi could see the faintest smile spread across his lips. Daichi smiled too and returned to his own room. He fell asleep wondering if Sugawara was awake all of the other nights of break when Daichi had carried him to bed the same way he did that night.

* * *

"Secret Santa?" Daichi and Suga asked in unison after Asahi mentioned it at the lunch table.

"Jinx!" The two said again. "Jinx again!" Suga leaned forward and flicked Daichi on the forehead, and Daichi recoiled, dramatically falling backwards. Asahi groaned.

"Will you two please listen to me?" Asahi hadn't said anything to anyone about the events of Thanksgiving night, but he was really considering it, given how annoying Suga and Daichi had been since Thanksgiving break now. It was endearing before, as they were tripping over themselves, not knowing whether or not they should flirt with one another, or even how they felt about one another, but now, they were all over each other, goofing around, and chattering constantly... that was until someone mentioned it, then they would instantaneously revert back to their old awkward state of being. "Daichi, can I talk to you in the hallway please?"

"What why?" Daichi craned his neck away from the intense poking match he and Suga were in. As he looked away, Suga jabbed him in the side and he winced. "Hey! Ouch not fair!" Asahi swatted at Suga's hand and snapped his finger in front of Daichi's face. He wrapped his arm around Daichi's wrist and yanked him away from his seat at the table. He dragged him all the way into the hallway, and once they were there, Asahi looked just a little more distressed than usual.

"Dude, you're being ridiculous." Asahi said, more firmly than Daichi had ever heard him speak before. Daichi's full attention wasn't on Asahi however, as he kept flipping back into the cafeteria to see what Suga was doing. 

"What why?" He said, still only half paying attention.

"Seriously? You're being a total ass to me for starters." Asahi winced when he realized how cruel the words sounded, but he knew that he meant what he said. Daichi had finally placed his full attention on Asahi, as he couldn't recall a time in his whole life when Asahi had been so... aggressive with him. "And I get it with Suga, I really do, but you have to stop being like this you're acting like a seventh grader." Daichi's face had gone from stark white to beet red in a moment of seconds. "I was trying to help you out for a second, but you couldn't stop flirting with Suga long enough to listen to me."

"I wasn't flirting."

"Well, you wouldn't stop whatever you were doing." Asahi rolled his eyes. "Dude, I really do want whatever _this_ is to work out with Suga, but come on man, don't treat me like dirt because of it." Asahi had gone from irritated to rather sad looking.

"Asahi." Daichi said, not knowing what exactly to say next. "I'm sorry, I didn't realize what I was doing, I've just never felt like this before, and he's been so goofy recently, and I just-" 

"Dude. You don't have to explain yourself. I get it." Asahi smiled for the first time since they had been in the hallway. "Now if you would listen to me for a second, you would know that I'm trying to help you out." Daichi cocked his eyebrow. "Dude, Secret Santa would be a perfect time to get him a sick Christmas present." 

"Why couldn't I just buy him something without Secret Santa?" Asahi's cheeks grew redder at the question.

"Uhm- I uh--"

"And how would we know that I got Suga?" Daichi smirked. "What's in this for you Asahi?" 

"I just want my old best friend and my new best friend to be happy." He fibbed. Daichi glared at him. "If you keep staring at me like that I'm not going to consider you my best friend anymore." Asahi frowned.

"Don't lie." If Daichi were prodding someone else, he would have had to work a little harder, but Asahi was an easy nut to crack.

"Okay fine! I want to give Noya a Christmas present!" He finally relented in desperation. Daichi smacked his hand over his mouth.

"You're joking!"

"No, I'm not joking you ass wipe!" Asahi winced. "Sorry, that was mean I'm just really stressed right now." Daichi giggled.

"It's okay dude, I'm pretty sure I deserve it." Daichi slapped Asahi's shoulder. "Noya? You know... I can see it." 

"Daichi, please stop." 

"No, no, I think it would be cute."

"Daichi."

"Hmmmmm. Both of us. Wow." Asahi and Daichi made eye contact and both burst into laughter before wrapping each other into a hug. "I'm sorry I'm such a douche."

"That's okay, I'm pretty used to it." Daichi punched Asahi right on the arm causing the taller man to double over in pain.

"How are we gonna do this Secret Santa thing?"

"I didn't really think that far. It should be relatively easy to rig it if we're the ones that set it up though, right?" Asahi scratched the side of his head. 

"Damn, you're really scheming about this one, aren't you? You must really like him." Daichi teased.

"I'm going to regret telling you this, aren't I?"

"Hey, at least we're even now."

* * *

Asahi was right in assuming that rigging the Secret Santa would be easy. All they had to do was remove Suga's and Noya's names from the drawings, and then they assigned them to themselves respectively. The participants were Daichi, Asahi, Sugawara, Nishinoya, Tanaka, Bokuto, and the newest addition to their friend group, Akaashi. They drew names at lunch a few days into December, Daichi making sure not to include the two specific names into the hat they drew from.

"I drew myself!" Bokuto called out, waving his slip of paper in the air at the lunch table. Everyone groaned and placed their papers back into the hat to redraw. As soon as the finalized pairings had been drawn, there was an apparent shift in the lunch table as everyone began to plan what they were going to buy for their assigned friend. As Suga brainstormed, he glanced over to notice that Daichi didn't seem to be too worried about what he was going to buy.

"Do you already have an idea?" He asked, trying to sneak a peek at Daichi's slip of paper. Daichi yanked it away just in time.

"Hey, no peeking. And yes. I know what I want to get them." Daichi smiled before turning back to his conversation with Asahi. In that moment alone, Suga felt his stomach do a somersault, and he had to force himself to think about something other than the way Daichi had spoken to him in that moment. _This is getting to be a little pathetic, Suga._ He thought to himself. As soon as he thought it, Daichi threw his head back in laughter over something Asahi said, and a small smile crept across Suga's face. _But he's so cute._

Daichi did his best to not act suspicious when Suga would mention Secret Santa, but he was so excited that he wouldn't be surprised if Suga was starting to suspect something. 

"Daichi?" Suga asked as they sat in the practice rooms after school one day. Daichi straightened up and gulped immediately, worried that he would mention something about Secret Santa. 

"Y-yeah?"

"Have you taken Anatomy?" The tension immediately left Daichi's body.

"Last year. Why?" He watched Suga's face twist into something he hadn't ever seen before. If it was embarrassment, it was different from the other kinds of embarrassment he had seen from Suga before.

"Can you help me study for my final, please?" Suga finally choked out. "I got a C on the midterm and my mom was pissed. I just thought maybe if you could help me then I might make some better sense out of some stuff and I-" 

"Of course I'll help you Suga." Daichi smiled and placed his hand on Suga's thigh, and Suga felt an insurmountable amount of heat flood into his cheeks.

"Thanks." He said, trying to will the color out of his face, but he tried to no avail, his face remained pink. Daichi smiled at him.... _Cute._

"No problem." _Kiss him, Daichi. This is an excellent opportunity, do it you big wuss, kiss him._ As it always happened, the bell rang before anything came out of Daichi's internal monologue, causing him to groan when Suga stood up and walked away from the piano bench. One of these days he was going to do what he wanted before that stupid bell rang.... eventually.

Although their practice sessions weren't usually solely devoted to music, as the boys had the tendency to get distracted, they spent the last few weeks before midterms studying Suga's anatomy work. Suga would lay on his stomach across the floor, Daichi sitting cross legged next to him, helping him come up with acronyms, and explaining all the different processes he needed to know. At the beginning of their tutoring sessions, Suga genuinely was not grasping what Daichi was saying, at least not any better than when his teacher spouted it in class, but by the week before finals, he was finally starting to understand some of the concepts he had been having trouble with.

The day of his exam, Daichi walked with him to his classroom before the test. As Suga went to walk into the doorway, Daichi reached out and grabbed his hand. Suga turned back, visibly nervous for the test, but also shocked over the tight grip that Daichi had suddenly placed on his hand. 

"Just remember what we studied." Daichi said, his gaze so focused on Suga's he could have burned a hole through his skull. "You can do it. I believe in you." With a nod of understanding and a quick squeeze of Daichi's hand, Suga turned into the classroom to take his exam with a newfound confidence that he wouldn't have if Daichi hadn't stopped him just then. As he sat at his lab table, he felt a little light headed, both from his thoughts about Daichi and over all the Anatomy knowledge he had attempted to cram into his head.

Daichi was done for the day when he left Suga in the anatomy room, as his schedule for finals was different than a normal day, and as much as he wanted to, he decided he better not sit and wait for the two hour exam slot to end. He figured it would be a little less than endearing for Suga to know that he sat and waited for so long, especially without him asking. As he walked away from the classroom, he felt as though he had a magnet, slowly drawing him back in the direction of the classroom. _Damn it._ He resorted to camping out in the practice rooms for the time being. He typed out a quick message to Suga to let him know where he was, knowing that he wouldn't see it until he was done with the exam. Daichi paced for the first twenty minutes in the practice room. It had been a while since he had paced this badly, and it was strange, considering he wasn't even the person taking the test, but he felt a sense of responsibility after tutoring Suga, and more than anything he just wanted Suga to do well.

After what felt like an hour and a half, the practice room door swung open, and a very excited looking Sugawara peeked his head in. Daichi perked up and turned to greet him.

"How'd it go?" He stood up from the piano bench. Suga took a deep breath.

"I got a 94!" Suga cried out, practically jumping up and down with excitement. Daichi couldn't contain his excitement either, as soon as the score left Suga's mouth, he wrapped his arms around him, so tightly. He lifted Suga off of the floor ever so slightly, and he felt the boy bend his knees a bit as he held him in mid air. Daichi's face was pressed into Suga's shoulder, and he stood and listened to Suga laugh as Daichi swung him back and forth, still not allowing his feet to touch the ground. Suga started to playfully slap his back. "Put me down, Daichi! I want to tell you about it!" Daichi reluctantly obliged... if he had his way, he would never have to put Suga down.

"How'd you get your score so fast?" Daichi asked, finally letting Suga return to the floor. 

"It was online!" Suga smacked Daichi's shoulder in excitement. "Daichi! There were so many questions that we went over on there! I knew like, all of them! It was awesome." Suga's face was beaming with joy, and Daichi stood for a moment basking in the ray of sunshine that stood in front of him.

"I'm proud of you." 

"Thank you. I couldn't have done it without you." 

"I didn't help you that much." Daichi blushed, looking away from Suga.

"Don't flatter yourself, you seriously helped me out. I owe ya one." Suga said.

* * *

Daichi wrung his hands together anxiously as he paced in front of the couch in his living room. Asahi laid sprawled out on said couch, watching his best friend bounce across the room. They both were wearing Christmas sweaters, and the house was decorated for the holiday accordingly. Every time Daichi paced in the direction of the Christmas tree, he would stop and fix an ornament or two before returning back to his normal pacing pattern.

"Can you stop? I'm supposed to be the anxious one, not you." Asahi said, surprisingly calm, considering the fact that he was about to give Nishinoya a present too.

"I can't help it! What if he hates his present? I think I would die." Daichi sat down on the couch next to Asahi.

"I'm sure he'll love it."

Snow had started to fall earlier that day, and there was a light dusting collecting on the ground. Su travelled back and forth from the kitchen to the living room, bringing different snacks and treats out to the table. Bokuto and Akaashi arrived first, no surprise that they came together, as the unlikely pair had practically been attached at the hip since Halloween. They entered and placed their presents around the Christmas tree. A few moments later, a small car screeched into the driveway. The four boys scurried to the window at the noise, to see Tanaka, Nishinoya, and Sugawara crawling out of a car that was being driven by a rowdy looking blonde woman.

"Tanaka's sister." Asahi explained as the three boys approached the front door. They were being so loud that they could hear them before they even entered the house. Daichi opened the door for them, and the three of them poured into the doorway.

"Suga?" Su asked from the kitchen when she heard his voice from the door. She scurried into the living room, and her face lit up at the sight of him. She gave him a quick squeeze before pulling him off to the side to talk to him for a second. Daichi tried to remain involved in the conversation his friends were having, but his attention kept being drawn back to whatever his mother and Suga were talking about. He watched as Suga gave Su a hug before turning back to join his friends on the couch. He plopped down next to Daichi, making no attempt to not bump into him as he did it. He was practically on top of Daichi when he sat down. Daichi felt his whole body go numb for a second before he quickly stood up to avoid more awkwardness.

"L-let's do presents!" He said, turning to the Christmas tree.

"Ooh! Ooh! Me first!" Nishinoya sprung up off the couch and retrieved a small present before turning and handing it to Daichi. "Sir Daichi, I hope you enjoy your gift." Daichi smiled and tore the poorly wrapped paper off of the present. Inside the parcel, there was a collection of new socks, some plain, and some patterned. Suga stifled a laugh, thinking his gift was some sort of gag, but as his eyes travelled from Daichi's hands to Daichi's face, he realized that he was much more excited for the simple present than Suga would have expected him to be. 

"Noya!" Daichi said as he wrapped the small boy in an embrace. "I love them! Thank you!" Nishinoya beamed with pride. _Guess he knows Daichi better than I do._ Suga stewed in his seat. 

"I'll go next!" Bokuto tossed a present that was in a gift bag to Tanaka, who caught it with a grin. Tanaka opened the bag, his eyes growing wide when he saw what was inside. Bokuto's face was turning purple from how hard he was trying to hold back his laughter. There were only two items in the bag, and Tanaka pulled them out individually. The first was a comically large candy cane, and the second was a box of condoms. When Tanaka finally revealed them to the group, Bokuto was screaming with laughter. The other boys groaned at the crude nature of the present, but they all thought it was pretty funny deep down. Bokuto had tears streaming down his face, and Tanaka was so embarrassed that his whole face was red, the blush spreading all the way up to his ears.

"I told him not to do it, but he couldn't be persuaded." Akaashi said as he shrugged, the faintest smile on his face. "I'll go next." He gave a small box to Bokuto, who eagerly ripped the lid off. He pulled out a t-shirt, and began to screech when he saw the design on the front. He turned it around for everyone to see. The only thing on the front of the shirt were the words, "Welcome to the Gun Show." Everyone in the room sighed as Bokuto peeled the shirt he was wearing off and slipped the new one one.

"Akaashi!!! It's awesome!" He flashed his biceps for everyone to see, and his friends played along, giving him hoots and hollers and the occasional clap as he struck different poses. Asahi stood up from the couch and grabbed a box from under the tree before placing it in Nishinoya's lap. Noya looked up at him, his eyes wide. He tore off the wrapping paper, and opened the box, which everyone could now see was a shoe box. Asahi sat with his hands clasped together, so incredibly nervous to see how Nishinoya would react to the gift. When Nishinoya saw the contents of the box, he leapt up and sprung onto Asahi giving him a maniacal bear hug.

"Asahi!" He crawled off of the larger man and returned back to the shoe box as he pulled out the shoes and slipped them on. They were sleek black on top, but the soles were thick and had LED lights in them. Noya fiddled with the switches on the bottom for a second, eventually getting the shoes to flash. He began to shuffle across the carpet as everyone cheered him on. Asahi's had the dopiest grin across his face, with a crazy amount of blush to go along with it. "These are great, Asahi. I love them" 

"I'm really glad." Asahi said, twisting a strand of hair around his finger.

"My turn!" Suga said, standing up from the couch. He handed Asahi a large bag, and Asahi began to sift through the contents. He pulled out a large mixing bowl, and different colored spoons and spatulas. With each little thing he pulled from the bag, he gasped with excitement. Su had peeked her head out from the kitchen and Suga turned and flashed her a thumbs up. Daichi noticed the exchange.... must have been what they were talking about earlier.

"Suga, this is great!" Asahi stood up so he could wrap Suga into a bear hug.

"I'm expecting some more cupcakes!" He said as he patted Asahi on the back. "Daichi, you're the last one." 

Daichi took a deep breath, when he stood, his knees felt weak. _You can do this, Daichi._ He grabbed an oddly shaped present out from under the Christmas tree, and handed it to Suga who took it eagerly. He peeled back the wrapping to expose a white bike helmet. Suga furrowed his eyebrows at first, but then he looked up at Daichi, who was biting his lip.

"Daichi." 

"Do you like it?" 

"I don't have a bike, Daichi." Suga fiddled with the latch on the helmet. He could feel tears welling in his eyes. He felt stupid, he knew he was overreacting, but if this was supposed to be a joke, it wasn't funny. Suddenly, he felt Daichi's hand wrap around his wrist.

"Hey, you guys hang here, we'll be right back." Daichi led Suga out the front door, and the boys started up a new conversation in their absence. He pulled Suga along all the way to the garage, where he typed out a small code on the keypad before the garage door slowly began to open. _C'mon Daichi, you've got this._ Once the garage door was all the way open, Suga's jaw dropped.

"Daichi, stop. You didn't." In the middle of the garage, there was a pastel yellow bicycle, poorly wrapped in wrapping paper, with a messily tied ribbon perched on the handle bars. The tears welling in Suga's eyes had new cause now, and they started to spill out over his cheeks. Daichi grinned a cheesy grin.

"Open it! Rip off the paper!" Daichi shifted back and forth warming his hands with his breath. The warmth he felt in his chest as he watched Suga's face as he unwrapped the gifted was unmatched however.

"Daichi! I didn't even get you anything. This is too much." Suga wiped the tears from his cheeks.

"I wasn't expecting a big present back." Daichi smiled his sweet, kind, Daichi™ smile. "I just wanted to get this for you." 

Suga stood frozen for a few moments, silently questioning what to do next. He knew deep down what he wanted to happen, and for the first time since realizing he wanted to, he finally did it.

He reached out in front of him, grasping at the fabric of Daichi's sweater. With fistfuls of the material, he pulled Daichi closer to him, watching closely as Daichi's eyes grew wide, not with disapproval, but with anticipation. As soon as Suga saw his face, he closed his own eyes and pressed his lips onto Daichi's, their cold noses touching in the moment. It was a quick kiss, but as it occurred, Daichi felt the warmth in his chest spread throughout his entire body. Suga pulled away first, finally releasing Daichi's sweater leaving the fabric slightly wrinkled from how hard he was holding on. He didn't want to let go... he didn't want Daichi to go anywhere.

"I'm sorry, I've just really wanted to-" Suga started to wipe his suddenly clammy hands on his jeans as he struggled to explain whatever the fuck had just occurred. Before the sentence could fully exit his mouth, Daichi grabbed his face gently, placing his hands on either cheek. He stared Suga dead in the eyes, and Suga just stared back.

_Deep breaths, Daichi. Deep breaths._

"Can I please do it again?' Daichi asked breathlessly, still holding Suga's delicate face. Suga giggled, a smile creeping across his face. He nodded to the best extent he could with two large Daichi hands bracing either side of his face. With that approval, Daichi titled Suga's face upward, ever so slightly, just the right angle.

_This is it, Daichi. You can do it._

He leaned in... and they kissed again. This kiss was different from the first. Suga went into his kiss blindly, risking it all, not knowing what would come out of it, but Daichi's kiss came with all of the built up passion that had been swelling since... well the first day of school (he realized now that that is definitely when it started). With Suga's kiss demolishing the floodgates that were holding back every ounce of Daichi's crush, he kissed him with everything he could.

Daichi was trying not to smoosh Suga's face with his hands as he kissed him, but the longer they kissed, the less aware he became of the rest of his body, and the more aware he grew of the tingling sensation in his lips. The kiss was sloppy, kind of reminiscent of how a toddler would kiss, mouth a little too wide, with no control, but still overflowing with love.

Daichi finally stopped, deciding it was probably for the best, before he embarrassed himself anymore. Daichi's cheeks were flushed with color, both from embarrassment and from how overwhelmed he was.

Suga's cheeks were pink too, but he couldn't decipher if the cause was from how cute Daichi was, the way Daichi had kind of squeezed his face really hard when they kissed, or literally just the fact that they totally just kissed right now. The cold air whipped around them in the garage.

"Was that your first kiss?" Suga asked as he reached out and smoothed Daichi's shirt.

"First. And second." Daichi took a step away from Suga. "Were they that terrible?"

Suga answered his question by pressing his lips back into Daichi's, catching him slightly off guard, causing both of them to stumble a few steps backwards, without separating their mouths. Suga couldn't help but break into a cheeky grin. Daichi pulled away, his head spinning. 

"I can't believe that just happened." Daichi said, raising his hand up to his mouth. Suga giggled.

"Me either." The two stood in silence in the garage, shifting back and forth, neither one knowing what to say next.

"I really like you!" They both said at the same time. Suga laughed and wrapped his arms around Daichi's midriff, pressing his head firmly into his chest. Daichi stopped for a moment, and then wrapped his own arms around Suga.

"Thank you." Suga said into Daichi's sweater.

"For the bike?" 

"No." Suga looked up at Daichi before finding his hand and lacing his fingers with Daichi's. "For being you. Thanks." Daichi's expression softened, and he lifted their conjoined hands, kissing the back of Suga's.

"I could say the same to you." Suga smiled, as a chill went down his spine. It was getting rather cold. "Let's head back in." He motioned to the front door, leaving the bike in the garage and shutting the garage door behind him. They stopped at the threshold of the front door, taking a quick pause to look at their hands, still attached. They then looked up from their hands and at each other's faces. Daichi quickly squeezed Suga's hand, and smiled, opening the door and heading back inside. They rejoined their friends, their hands still connected. It didn't take long for the rest of the boys to realize that something was different.... but they already sort of knew.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> wow uhm... took you guys long enough! we've been waiting for this dummies!
> 
> secret santa.... classic. 
> 
> also... I totally did not kick a kid named clay in the mouth while doing a cartwheel at a halloween party in grade school... I did not... that was all Suga.... NOT ME.
> 
> when they come back from Christmas break? more musical time :)  
> totally more self-indulgent theatre kid suga to come :P


	16. Here We Go Again

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "I think you should have a little more faith in him, Oikawa."
> 
> "I'll have more faith in him when he decides to use his brain for something other than calculus or basketball."

Sugawara angrily dialed Oikawa's phone number for what felt like the 60th time. He knew exactly why he wasn't answering. He was where he was every winter break, on a Caribbean cruise with his family getting gorgeously tanned, and having the time of his life on some small tropical island. That didn't stop Suga from dialing his number repetitively... he would have to get service eventually right?

After a seemingly endless amount of tries, Oikawa finally picked up the phone.

"Sugawara, I swear to god, I am only going to have service for the next 20 minutes, so you better not waste my time right now."

"We kissed!" Suga blurted out, practically cutting off Oikawa mid sentence. 

"Well it's about damn time. Get back to me when he sucks your-"

"Do not finish that sentence." Suga spat. "I can hear you laughing, Iwaizumi. Am I on speaker?" 

"Maybe. I was just saying." He could imagine the shit-eating grin Oikawa was wearing on the other end of the line. "Well, get on with it. How was it?" Suga sighed, remembering the night it happened. It was a few days ago now, but Suga could picture it clearly.... and he just knew Oikawa would make fun of him for it.

"It was nice." Was all he said, knowing that if he told him that it happened in Daichi's garage and that Daichi was not a particularly talented kisser, and that Daichi smooshed his face with his hands, that Oikawa would never let him hear the end of it. "He's so cute."

"I'm glad you've finally snagged yourself a cute lil boyfriend, Suga. You deserve it." Suga's cheeks flushed with color.

"I don't know if I would call him my boyfriend..."

"Are you kidding me? How dumb are you?"

"Oh, I don't know. Dumber than you would think."

"Would you shut up? You know for sure now that you both like each other, so that sounds like you're boyfriends to me."

"I guess."

"Listen Suga, I'm going to let you in on a little secret. I've known Daichi for basically my whole life... and sometimes, you have to spell things out for him."

"Is that so?"

"Honestly. He's one of the smartest people I know, but outside of school or sports, he's clueless. Clueless, I tell ya Suga. There's no room for you to be the dumb one in your relationship."

"There isn't a relationship." Suga frowned. "I've never asked someone to be my boyfriend before." He heard a large horn sounding on the other end of the call.

"Well, you better figure it out. We have to get back on the ship."

"Oikawa, you cannot leave me hanging like this."

"Actually, I can and I will. Congrats, gotta go. C'mon Iwa. Love you, Suga!" 

The call ended before Suga even got the chance to say goodbye. He couldn't help but stew a little as he sat and thought about perfect little Oikawa with his cute little boyfriend, on their annual Caribbean cruise with Oikawa's family, having a grand old time. He groaned. He had no idea how to go about asking someone on a date, let alone asking them _to_ date... he had gone on dates before, but nothing ever amounted from them, a few kisses, sometimes a little further, but never a relationship. He had a hard time believing all of what Oikawa said about Daichi being clueless... okay, maybe he was a little, but Daichi seemed very in tune with those around him, and he was always very perceptive of the way Suga felt and acted. Up until now, Suga had sat and waited, completely in denial of what was happening, but now he knew he wanted Daichi. He  _ really  _ wanted Daichi. He was done waiting. He picked up his phone to see there was a message from Daichi waiting to be opened on it. His heart dropped into his stomach... okay, maybe he could wait a little more.

* * *

"Hey, Suga, Daichi and I need to talk for a minute. Don't wait up!" Asahi randomly called out as they pulled into the school parking lot a few days after returning to school in January. Suga more than willingly obliged as he was shivering from the cold after only being outside of the car for a few moments.

As Suga ran off in the direction of the school, Daichi turned to Asahi, completely lost on what had just happened.

"What the heck, dude?" Daichi asked as Asahi turned to face him.

"Daichi, I love you, but you're killing me." Asahi said with a straight face.

"Can you explain why?" Daichi didn't want to admit it, but he was pretty positive that he knew what Asahi was going to say next.

"Come on. Use that big brain of yours." Daichi scowled at him. "You need to make a move, buddy."

"I'm not really sur--"

"Shhhh.... He kissed you first, so he's probably waiting for you to make the next move." Daichi stopped in his tracks. He hadn't really thought about it that way, but he was pretty sure that Asahi was right. 

"I just don't know if-" Daichi started again, only to be interrupted by Asahi... again.

"You guys kissed three times.  _ Something  _ should have come out of that." He said.

"Nothing has come out of your gift to Noya yet! That was part of the plan too!" Daichi sassed as Asahi's cheeks turned red. Asahi swatted at his arm.

"We're not talking about me right now." Asahi frowned.

"Well, maybe we should."

"Will you be quiet, Daichi? You should try to see this through... you deserve it." Asahi smiled at Daichi, who just blankly stared back. "Plus, it is literally painful watching you two interact with each other like this." Daichi scoffed and rammed his shoulder into Asahi's side gently. They both chuckled.

"I'm just looking out for you, Dai."

"Thanks for looking out for me." They both said at the same time before bursting into laughter. 

Suga was long gone into the school by the time they were close to the building. Before they split their own ways for first period, Asahi gave Daichi some last minute encouragement. 

"You should probably talk to him today." Asahi said, starting to turn to walk away from Daichi.

"Right. I will." Daichi turned away from his best friend and began to turn away from his friend. Once his back was turned, took a deep breath. He wasn't sure if would be able to do it or not... was it even worth trying?

* * *

"Give me your arm!" Oikawa grasped at Suga's arm and pried it away from where he was working on a computer in the photography lab. He pushed back Suga's sleeve and placed his own arm next to Suga's. His skin was tanned to a deep olive shade, and Suga's contrasted it greatly. "Hah! You're so pasty!" Oikawa cried out gleefully. Suga jerked his arm out of Oikawa's grasp and he rolled his sleeve back down.

"Some of us don't have the time or money to go on Caribbean cruises multiple times a year." Suga hissed as Oikawa slouched back into his chair.

"Ugh. Sorry." Oikawa leaned forward out of his chair once again, this time leaning over Suga's arm to see what he was doing on his computer.

"Do you mind?" Oikawa shook his head. "How are you even passing this class? I haven't seen you do an assignment all year." Oikawa shrugged as Suga groaned, turning back to the computer screen. Plastered across the monitor, there was a picture that must have been taken during homecoming week. It was an action shot of the football field, two teams visible, but the focal point of the photo, was one certain alternate quarterback in the middle of what looked to be the game winning pass.

"I get why you're so focused. Gotta make your boyfriend look good for the yearbook." Oikawa teased. Suga turned and flicked him in the forehead.

"Shut up." The two were usually chatty in class, but Oikawa was being louder than usual today.

"What? Not like there's much retouching to do, you and I both know you think he looks great all the time. This photo is no exception." Oikawa had a smug grin growing across his face, while Suga's cheeks were growing red, flaming with embarrassment.

Their loud conversation had grabbed the attention of a few of their classmates, but most of them turned back to their work when they realized it was just the two for them being loud like they were most days. Asahi however made special notes to listen to what they were saying.... it wasn't eavesdropping.... no, he was gathering intel... for Daichi... at least that's how he rationalized it in his brain. His heart raced in his chest as he listened to the two boys behind him speak. He was praying that they wouldn't notice a change in his behavior.

"Oikawa, stop talking about him." Suga gritted his teeth. He was close friends with Oikawa, he really was... but the man had a way of bringing out the worst in others, and he was showcasing that right now. "I don't really want to talk about it right now."

"Why not? Trouble in paradise?" Oikawa sneered. Suga noticed that Asahi was sitting a little straighter in his seat than usual.

"Oikawa, shut up." Suga said through his teeth. Oikawa noticed the way Suga's gaze kept flitting back and forth to Asahi. A devilish grin spread across his face. "Don't you dare." Suga warned. He was too late.

"Asahiiiiiii!" Oikawa whispered, causing the large man in front of him to practically jump out of his seat.

"Yes?!" Asahi said, a little too loud. "What's up? What do you need?" He was so worried that his voice cracked. He cleared his throat and waited to see what Oikawa had to say.

"You've known Daichi longer than I have," Oikawa started. Suga's eyes remained glued on the computer screen. "And I've been telling Suga this for days, but don't you agree that Suga has to make the next move? Daichi's definitely not going to." He said, as bluntly as he always does. Asahi stared at the two of them, his eyes wider than usual. Suga was fuming in his seat. He wound his arm back and smacked Oikawa's back, and Oikawa lurched forward in his seat before turning and jabbing his hand into Suga's side. The two of them fought for a moment before Asahi finally chimed in.

"I don't think Suga should worry about making the next move." He said. Suga and Oikawa paused their brawl and exchanged stares. "I think you should have a little more faith in him, Oikawa." 

"I'll have more faith in him when he decides to use his brain for something other than calculus or basketball." Oikawa huffed and turned back in his seat. Sugawara's eyes were glued onto his computer screen again, his mind full of thoughts, spinning a mile a minute.

"Hey," Asahi said kindly. "Don't worry about him. He's not as dumb as Oikawa makes him out to be. You and I both know that." Asahi gave a gentle smile that Suga promptly returned before Asahi turned back around in his seat. Once he was completely turned around and sure Suga couldn't see the panic on his face, he pulled his phone out of his pocket.

**From: Asahi**

_**Hey** _

_**....** _

_**hey** _

_**....** _

_**Daichi** _

_**....** _

_**I'm sorry.** _

_**....** _

_**I know you** _ **_weren't going to do anything with the Suga situation today_ **

**_...._ **

**_but I think you should today._ **

**_...._ **

**_because I kind of just told him you would._ **

**_...._ **

**_sorry!_ **

Daichi wasn't one to be on his phone during class, but when he heard it buzzing in his pocket he couldn't help but be curious about what all the commotion was about. When the screen lit up with the messages in his lap, he felt his heart drop into his stomach.

**To: Asahi**

_**Dude.** _

**From: Asahi**

**_I am truly so sorry_ **

**To Asahi:**

**_How did you know I wasn't going to say anything to him today?_ **

**From Asahi:**

**_Because I know you Daichi..._ **

**_...._ **

**_well..._ **

**_...._ **

**_good luck!_ **

If Daichi wasn't in class he would have groaned, so he sighed instead. He quietly slipped his phone back into his pocket and took a deep breath. _Today's the day, I guess._ Was the first thought of what would soon grow to be a monsoon of overthinking. _Where? How? When? Should I even do it?_ Daichi's heart started to race in his chest. _What the hell? Why is this so difficult?_ He looked up at the clock and then shifted his gaze back down at his desk. _Stop it, Daichi. Do you want to do this?_ A faint smile creeped across his face. He really did want to do it, more than anything. _Okay, Daichi.... You can do this._

* * *

Daichi had it all planned out, he really did. He was going to ask Suga out on a cute date, today. He was going to, he really was. It was a lot simpler said than done, once he found himself in the situation he had planned. Going to the practice rooms had truly become routine for the two of them, it was a safe space, and a break from the stress the felt in the rest of their classrooms. Daichi couldn't help but feel like the practice room was very far from a safe space today. He felt the same as he did during Homecoming week, when he gave Suga his practice jersey. He didn't understand him why it made him so anxious to give it to him, or why he was even so inclined to give it to him in the first place back then, but now as he walked down the hall to meet Suga in the room, he knew exactly why he was so anxious that day. Just because he knew why he was anxious didn't make it any better.

He wiped his clammy hands on his pants and gulped before opening the door to the practice room. Suga spun around on the piano bench when he heard Daichi open the door.

"It's about time, what took you so long to get here?" He said with a grin. 

_Oh, I was pacing in the hallway so that I wouldn't have to talk to you sooner._

"I had to make copies... gotta do some work as a teacher's aide sometimes," Daichi fibbed. Suga narrowed his gaze as Daichi awkwardly stood just within the doorway of the practice room.

"Uhm Suga?" Daichi uttered.

"Uhm Daichi?" Suga mimicked with a smile. 

"I have a question for you." Suga's smile disappeared, and his eyes grew wide, as he remembered what Asahi had said to him that morning.

_I didn't know you meant it would happen so soon, Asahi, what the heck? You could have given me better warning!_ Suga thought to himself.

"I might have an answer." Suga realized he shouldn't act like he knew what was about to happen, so he plastered an innocent smile on his face. 

"Do you- uhm, Do you want to hang out tomorrow?" That was not what he was going to ask. He _was_ going to ask him to go out to dinner, but he was too scared... 

Suga could have squealed at the question, and it took all of his self control not to.

"Just us?" Suga said knowingly.

"Uh, yeah if that's okay." Daichi said, his face flooding with worry.

"Sounds great."

"Okay, yeah sounds great." Daichi repeated. Suga giggled, very obviously observing how nervous Daichi was. Suga leaned forward on the piano bench as Daichi stood, still in the doorway.

"Are you going to stand in the doorway for the whole period or are you gonna come play the piano for me?" Suga teased. Daichi coughed before depositing his bag next to the piano and sliding onto the bench next to Suga. As Daichi slid onto the bench, Suga made a point to slide into his direction, so that they would ram into each other when they met in the middle. They laughed for a moment at what had just happened, but once the laughter fizzled out, the tension and awkwardness that was becoming much too common for them flooded back into the room again. Daichi hated the awkwardness, he did, he hated it more than anything, but he didn't know what to do to get rid of it. Daichi did what he was there to do, and played the piano for Suga, but the whole time he was stewing in his seat, cursing himself for not being able to rid the room of the uncomfortable tension. The song they were working on came to a close, and as the final notes echoed throughout the room, Daichi felt a sudden but gentle pressure on his shoulder. 

He glanced out of the corner of his eye, to see that Suga had placed his head on his shoulder. Daichi could see his lightly colored eyelashes still fluttering with blinks, so he knew that he was doing this intentionally. Daichi could feel how little tension was in Suga's head and neck as he rested on him, so why was he still so stiff and tense? With much deliberation, Daichi raised his hand, and placed it on Suga's leg. It was more than a friendly pat of reassurance on the knee, but it was a feeble declaration of all of the tangled up feelings Daichi was still trying to decipher.

"We're so dumb, Daichi." Suga said quietly, with a soft chuckle. Daichi laughed, careful not to shake his shoulders too much, since Suga's head was _still_ on his shoulder. 

"What do you mean?" 

"Oh nothing." Suga smiled, his chest warm, but his head full of thoughts. Daichi frowned. _What does he mean? Does he feel the same way I do?_ Daichi thought to himself. 

Per usual, they finished out their period in the practice room, just chatting, and not much rehearsing to go along with it. Suga shifted a few times, but kept his head on Daichi's shoulder for the remainder of that time. Daichi followed suit, and kept his hand and Suga's thigh, occasionally shifting his thumb to stroke his leg gently. He would be surprised if Suga couldn't hear how loudly his heart was beating the whole time they were sitting there, because he thought it was going to beat out of his chest. 

The damned bell rang, the same way it always did, ending whatever serenity the two of them were able to find within the walls of the practice room. 

"I've got rehearsal today, so I don't need a ride home." Suga said, finally lifting his head from Daichi's shoulder.

"Oh, okay." Daichi responded, slightly disappointed. They gathered their things and walked towards the door. With what may have been a lapse of judgement, Daichi turned back to face Suga, and planted a kiss on his cheek. When he pulled his face away from Suga's he noticed that his cheeks were pink, and he could see that the color spread all the way to his ears. He could only imagine his face looked the same. Suga slowly raised his hand to his cheek, just blinking at Daichi, who was frozen in front of him.

"I'll see you tomorrow." Daichi smiled nonchalantly, somehow masking the fact that he was internally screaming. Suga removed his hand from his face and waved as Daichi left the room. 

"Oh my gosh." Suga muttered under his breath. The squeal he had been holding in from earlier escaped his lips and he pulled his phone out of his pocket. He frowned when he thought about Oikawa lecturing him about how what Daichi proposed was very much _not_ a date. But it was a date to Suga, and that was all that mattered.

The practice room door shut behind Daichi, and he took off in what may as well have been a full on sprint. He was in an off season for sports, but he was athletic nonetheless, and it showed as he darted out of the auditorium and out to the parking lot where Asahi was waiting for him. 

In the lot, Asahi was waiting in his car, warming it up and defogging the windows. The bitter cold was alarming to Daichi, but he powered through it, and trudged quickly to Asahi's car. He threw himself inside once he was close enough, practically bursting with the good news.

"Did you do it?" Asahi said.

"I did it!" Daichi said at the same time. They stared at each other for a moment, before Asahi began to cheer. Asahi reached across the center console and ruffled Daichi's hair.

"I'm so proud of you!" With how happy Asahi was, one would assume that something life-changing had happened to him, but he just really loved his friends... especially his best friend.

* * *

The next day, Daichi woke up feeling electrified. It was ironic that he had so much energy, considering he spent most of the night tossing and turning doubting whether or not what was about to happen was a date or not. He had no questions now as to what today had in store. It was a date. With his new best friend. In his house. While his mom was home. Shit. He hadn't spoken to his mom about this. It's not like he needed permission to have Suga over... his mom would drop everything for any of Daichi's friends, but especially for Suga... she wouldn't be upset about him coming over. But he felt his stomach tie into knots as he got ready to pick up Suga, without his mom knowing his true intentions for having him over. As Daichi descended the stairs, he caught a glimpse of his mom in the kitchen, reading something at the table. He sighed when he saw her, but then walked over to her before taking a seat next to her.

"Mom."

"Yes, Dai?" She looked up from whatever paperwork she was reading, pushing her reading glasses onto her nose.

"So Suga is coming over," Daichi folded his hands on his lap. He felt like a little kid, confessing to his mom about doing something he wasn't supposed to.... but the thing about this, is that he knew he was supposed to be doing it. "But I think it's because we're, uhm, more than friends." Daichi hadn't said anything like that out loud before, and the last person he expected to say it to was his mother of all people. Su took her glasses off and folded them on the table in front of her.

"What are you trying to say Dai?" Her face was concerned, but still kind. Daichi took a deep breath, and when he let it out, he answered.

"I really like him, mom. Like more than a friend. And, today is kind of like a date. I think." Daichi felt like he was going to start crying. His chest was tight, but at the same time, he felt a massive weight being alleviated from his mind. Su wrapped her arms around her son and she pulled him tightly to her chest.

"Daichi." She said, sounding rather emotional herself. "I'm so proud of you."

"Did you know?" Daichi asked, still wrapped in his mother's embrace. 

"I had a feeling, but I wasn't sure what to make of it." She pushed Daichi away for a moment, her arms bracing his shoulders. "How much has come out of this crush, Dai?" With that question, Daichi's face turned crimson. "Oh, that far?"

"Mom." Daichi pleaded.

"What? I was curious!" Su said in defense. 

"I am not going to tell you that, mother." Su fake pouted and Daichi laughed, grabbing her car keys off the table as he stood up to go to the door. "And don't you dare think of speaking to him about this when he gets here." 

"Oh, boo. You're no fun."

Daichi turned to the door. He couldn't believe what had just happened. But he didn't have time to fester on the way his mom reacted, as he was already halfway to the car. He didn't realize it while he was driving, but he spaced out on the way there, taking all the turns and roads he needed to, but when he pulled into Suga's driveway, he didn't remember any of it. He put the car in park. Most kids his age would text their friends letting them know that they were there, and Daichi almost did, but he felt inclined to knock on the front door. There were no other cars in the driveway, so he assumed Suga was there alone. He walked briskly up the stairs before knocking on the front door. Suga knew he was coming, there was no reason for him to be so antsy, but that never stopped him in the past. 

Suga opened the front door a few moments later, his hair slightly messy and wet-looking. 

"Hey." Daichi said sweetly.

"Hey. Sorry, I'm not ready." Suga said, awkwardly standing in the doorway.

"Oh, okay. I can wait in the car if you wa-" Daichi started before Suga grabbed his wrist and pulled him inside. Suga gave him a quick squeeze before dragging him down a hallway into what he assumed was his bedroom. 

"Sorry, it's a mess, but I didn't want you to wait alone in the front room." Daichi gulped as he took a step into Suga's room. It was messy, sure, but it was so... Suga. The posters on the walls, the stacks of books and papers, the shoes strewn across the floor. It was organized chaos. Daichi took a few more steps in, careful not to step on anything on the floor. He took a seat at the desk chair, taking in everything around him. Organized chaos... he chuckled to himself. That was a pretty accurate way to describe the two of them. They were constantly flip flopping back and forth in a strange state of organized chaos. He finally snapped back to reality to see that next to him, Suga had stripped down to his underwear to change clothes. Daichi's eyes grew wide at first, his mouth turning dry, but he quickly pried his eyes away, promptly spinning around in the desk chair. He could practically hear his heart beating in his chest. 

He tried to find something to keep his mind occupied with something other than Suga changing behind him. There were polaroid photos mounted above the desk, so he decided to devote his eyes to that, even though they so desperately wanted to see what was behind him. The photos must have been from before Suga transferred back to Karasuno, as Daichi didn't recognize any of the people in the photos with him. Suga was noticeably younger too, his eyes a little bigger, and his cheeks a little chubbier. Daichi soon forgot what was happening on the other side of the room, as he was too involved in studying all of the photos in front of him. Suddenly, he felt Suga fling himself over his shoulder.

"You like my pics?" Suga said, his head right next to Daichi's. Daichi turned his head slightly, and he could smell the shampoo wafting out of Suga's still damp hair. He wanted to bury his nose in the hair, and breathe in every last ounce, but instead he turned back to the front with a smile.

"How old were you? You look younger." Suga leaned forward a bit.

"This was the summer before sophomore year." Suga walked away, before producing another photo from his bedside table. He walked back to Daichi and handed him the photo. He walked away to put his shoes on, but he could still hear Daichi's gasp when he saw the photo.

"Your freckles!" Daichi cried at the sight of the photo. He had handed him an old school photo. Suga's grey hair was long, almost down to his shoulders, he wore a mischievous and toothless grin, and his face was plastered in freckles. Daichi ran his thumb along the edge of the photo.

"Cute right?" Suga said, knowingly.

"You don't have freckles anymore. What happened?" Daichi finally spun back around in the chair to see Suga sitting on the floor, tying his shoes. Suga shrugged.

"They faded when I got older. By the time I got to middle school, they were basically all gone. Sometimes when I'm out in the sun they come back a little, but never as much as they do there." Daichi was still staring at the photo. It was adorable... undeniably adorable. When he went to hand it back to him, Suga didn't hold his hands out to take it back.

"I want you to have it." Daichi looked up, confused at the comment. "You can put it in your phone case or something." Suga grew shy suddenly, his cheeks flushing with color. Daichi grinned and got his wallet out of his pocket. In the clear section next to his ID, he slipped the photo in, before turning his wallet around to show Suga. 

"Cute." Daichi said, folding up his wallet and putting it in his pocket. Suga watched the way Daichi's eyes clung to the photo until it was closed away in his wallet. When he had put the wallet away, Daichi stood up, Suga following suit. Before they could leave the room, Suga felt a surge of confidence, and as he flipped the light switch off, he reached out and grabbed Daichi's hand, intertwining their fingers together. Daichi looked over to Suga, who was already cautiously watching him. Daichi squeezed his hand before the two of them exited the room, and then the house together. 

"You can drive?" Suga joked as Daichi pulled his mom's car out of the driveway.

"Yes, I can drive, Suga." Daichi scowled. Their hands were still laced together in Suga's lap.

"I never would have guessed, since you're always making Asahi drive you places." Suga teased.

"The only way Asahi will drive is if me or one or both of his mom's is with him, so if I didn't ride with him, he would never drive. " Daichi laughed. "I don't know how he passed the test. He's gotten a lot better though, he used to be too anxious to even drive around our neighborhood." 

"Tanaka and Noya probably don't help his nerves. They're always so loud when they ride with him." 

"I don't think Asahi minds." Daichi squeezed Suga's hand again. He was partially doing it as a sign of affection, but he was also doing it to make sure what was happening was _actually_ happening. He couldn't believe that he was holding hands with this cute boy, who had given him a photo of himself as a keepsake, and they were about to have a date... Daichi simply couldn't believe it.

They only split their hands when Daichi had to park the car in his garage. Suga hopped out of the car, waiting for Daichi to round the vehicle and enter the house with him. As soon as the door was open, Su was there, ready to hug Suga, who graciously accepted the embrace.

"Hi Su!" He said as they squeezed each other in a tight hug.

"I've missed you!" She released him for a second, her eyes flitting to Daichi, and then back to Suga. She leaned forward and gave him a motherly kiss on the cheek, before doing the same to her son. "Have fun. I'll let you know when the pizza is here, dear." Su winked at Daichi whose chest was tight with worry that his mother would say something about their conversation earlier to Suga. He felt a little bit of relief when she didn't now, but the night was still young, and there would be plenty of opportunities for her to embarrass him later.

They found themselves back in the basement, similar to Thanksgiving day, but this time, Asahi wasn't there, and they weren't watching the national dog show. Daichi flicked through the pages of Netflix movies, nervous to pick something that Suga would like. Sometimes he would hover on a selection to try and get a read on what Suga thought about it, but he didn't want to be too obvious. He flipped to a selection and Suga promptly gasped.

"Daichi!" He cried. "We have to watch mamma Mia! Have you ever seen it?" Daichi was taken aback by his sudden excitement. 

"Uh-- no, I don't think I have." Daichi answered cautiously. The noise that Suga made was indescribable, a gasp? No. Maybe a groan? No, not a groan.

"Daichi!" Suga leapt over the arm of his chair and pried the remote from Daichi's hand, pressing play on the movie.

Daichi was hoping they would have a relaxed movie watch party, and maybe it was wishful thinking, but he even thought that maybe they would even cuddle, or at least hold hands, but Suga had other plans. Every time a new dance number began on the screen, Suga stood up, and stood in front of the screen, singing along, and goofily dancing with the characters. Daichi was upset about not cuddling sure, but watching Suga have so much fun was definitely second best to that. 

About halfway through the movie, Su brought them pizza, and Suga finally settled down in his seat. They ate quietly, Suga finally watching the movie instead of being a part of it and Daichi finally watching the movie instead of Suga. He could hear Suga hum along as the characters sang still, but he was nowhere near as performative as he was at the beginning of the movie. Suga finished his pizza, and placed his plate on the floor. Daichi saw him shifting in his seat, and assumed that meant he was going to get up and start dancing again, but when Suga got up, he didn't dance, but rather, he squeezed into Daichi's seat with him. Daichi's heart exploded as Suga scooted back next to him, their sides pressed against each other. Daichi raised his arm up and wrapped it around Suga's shoulder, Suga promptly scooting even closer, and resting his head on Daichi's chest.

The movie continued on the screen as the two of them stayed pressed against each other. Daichi's right arm was still around Suga's shoulder, but his left arm was stretched across his own body, his hand being held by both of Suga's. He noticed as the movie was almost over, that Suga had spread out his palm, and was running his fingers up and down Daichi's hand, tracing shapes and lines. Daichi could still smell the shampoo in Suga's hair, so he did what he wanted to do earlier, turning his head and pressing his nose onto the top of Suga's head. He took a deep breath, and then planted a kiss in his hair before turning back to the screen. With that, Suga let go of Daichi's hands, turning in his seat to grab Daichi's chin.

Daichi's arm slid down from Suga's shoulders to his waist, as Suga pulled his face into his. Just like the first time, Suga initiated this kiss. His hand was gently placed on Daichi's chin as the two of them shared a moment together. When their lips split, they took a moment to stare at each other, their faces just barely illuminated by the rolling credits on the screen behind them. Daichi leaned back in, catching Suga's lips in another kiss, their mouths parting more than they had the other times they kissed. Suga's hand still rested on Daichi's chin, so he held it steady as he turned his own head slightly, so that their mouths could fit together more closely. Daichi squeezed Suga's waist, allowing his hand to wrap around his side. He wasn't expecting what happened next, but it was a pleasant surprise nonetheless. As they continued to kiss, Suga accidentally slipped his tongue into Daichi's mouth, before quickly drawing it back into his own. He opened his eyes to see if Daichi was upset over his mistake, but the look he saw on Daichi's face wasn't anger, or disappointment... If Suga was reading him correctly...he wanted him to do it again. Daichi opened his eyes as Suga closed his own again, so Daichi watched him swoop back into another kiss, this time adding the tongue on purpose. Daichi took the hand that wasn't around Suga's waist and let it rest on the back of Suga's neck, traveling slightly up into his hairline. 

When the movie was finally silent, they separated, taking a moment to fully process what had just happened. Suddenly, Suga began to giggle.

"What?" Daichi said, his arm still plastered to Suga's waist.

"We just made out." Suga was giggling maniacally now, as Daichi's face turned beet red.

"Uh-- yeah, we uhm..." Daichi fumbled to say something.

"You're cute, Daichi." Suga said, turning back to rest his head on Daichi's chest again.

"You are too." Daichi choked out, still embarrassed from what Suga said, even though he was telling the truth.

* * *

Daichi woke up the next morning with a text from Suga on his phone.

**From: Suga**

**_thank u for last night_ **

Daichi smiled. Suga was gracious last night too, thanking him for the pizza, and the ride home, and just the time they spent in general. _Cute._

**To: Suga**

**_Thank you._ **

He sent back. A few minutes passed by before he got a response.

**From: Suga**

**_wanna do it again? soon?_ **

A huge smile spread across Daichi's cheeks.

**To: Suga**

**_Definitely._ **

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hey guys long time no chapter
> 
> not really, but I missed this lol
> 
> thank you to erica for proofreading, but if there are any mistakes, blame her not me
> 
> thanks for reading, it means the world to me, love you all mwah

**Author's Note:**

> thoughts? what are your thoughts? 0_o
> 
> come bother me on tiktok @friendlyneighborhoodvic


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